


To Save Them All

by Goldenpetal13



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M, Show level violence, Werewolf!Stiles, dub con, human!Scott
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-30
Updated: 2013-07-30
Packaged: 2017-12-10 00:18:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 64
Words: 108,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/779631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Goldenpetal13/pseuds/Goldenpetal13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU, FutureFic/Re do of Season 1, Something happens, something bad, and Stiles finds a way to go back in time to change the past and save them all, to give them a future.  He finds the way back and then swaps places with Scott and he gets bitten by Peter instead.  Now he has to change the events that where set in motion after that event and maybe, just maybe they’ll all get to live.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Rated M
> 
> Warnings: Dub-Con, show level violence, the usual, werewolf!Stiles, human!Scott
> 
> Don’t like don’t read, though constructive criticism is always welcome (plus any reviews). 
> 
> I own nothing, literally.
> 
> Yes I know I'm supposed to be finishing other works, I'm trying to get back into writing, it's harder than I thought after everything, and I have no idea when I'll be updating.

I stifle the scream as I feel Peter’s newly made Alpha teeth chomp through my side, I resist the urge to lash out at him, I’m not a teen anymore, it took me decades to find out how to do this and I’m not fucking it up by screaming.

 

It’s strange being back in this body, so young, so full of life, not creaky and worn down, and old.

 

The woods around us are dark, the moon in the sky isn’t bright enough for my human eyes to see properly but Peter’s red gleaming eyes lets me see him just fine.

 

His teeth are still in my flesh and he worries at the wound.  God that hurts, and god I hope the bite takes, that I become the werewolf this time around and not Scott, I couldn’t bear to lose him again, it hurt so much the first time.

 

Slowly I work my arm up and I try to pet Peter, I know he’s not in his right mind, the guy is literally a nut job at the moment, the brain damage he suffered coupled with the snapping of that many pack bonds has driven him insane, and he’s about to go on a mass murder spree, he’s already killed his niece so he can become the Alpha and get his revenge on the Argents, he’s working on pure instinct right now, he’s an Alpha, he’s alone, he needs a Pack so he’s making one by making the first person he meets his Beta.

 

If I were really a teen again, and having lived the life I did, I shouldn’t be able to cope with this much pain, but I’m not, I’ve lived for over a century, I’ve learnt to deal with physical pain and torture that’s much worse than this.  I power through the injury and exploit the weak spot I know Peter has, I scratch the base of his ear nearest to me.

 

He freezes and a muffled whine comes from him.

 

I don’t want him to freak out so I keep the rubbing thing going, his teeth that are still in my flesh will act like walls to keep my blood inside of me, the heat radiating from his body will keep me warm.  And the calmer he is around me the faster our Pack bond will start to grow, to the point that each of us will gain a measure of control over it, and that control will help me control him until his brain can heal the physical damage done to it.

 

Also I need him calm so that when we meet again, and we will meet soon, I’ll be ready to offer him my body so he can let off some pent up steam and aggression, and I really want his instincts to already see me as submissive to him, non-threatening, he’ll be gentler as we consummate the bond between us.

 

That should give me the leverage I need to stop him going on the mass murder spree he’s destined to do.  I need to change that future, I need to get him to use the legal channels, to force Kate’s accomplices to tell the truth and in doing so we’ll catch her and get her put away.  The Hunters will rock under those allegations, and then Gerard will come, he’ll come to force Peter to Bite him, except Peter won’t and Gerard will die of cancer, and that will rock the Hunters further and further off balance so the council can clean house.

 

And if Peter is the Alpha and stays the Alpha, then Derek never becomes the Alpha, there will be no Kanima this time around, no slaughter of the police, and Matt will not gain the vengeance he so desired, no Coach Lahey will face trial and Isaac will go into foster care, Erika will live, albet with epilepsy, Boyd will be lonely, Scott will never make first string but then his future in-laws won’t try to kill him either.

 

And I’ll be ready for the Alpha Pack, I’ll kill them all, because I know all their weaknesses in advance.

 

I’ve had years to track down the spell to send me back in time, I’ve had decades to explore the various futures that could arise from my actions, I’ve learnt so much and the world is not going to be ready for this version of Stiles, though technically here in the past they would have made it future!Stiles.

 

The werewolf monster is rumbling as I pet him, his head is tilting to give me better access and I smile to myself and make the right sounds he needs to hear, the sounds of a pup.  He cradles me in his arms and we stay like that for at least ten minutes, then he lets me go and his head snaps up to listen to something.  Peter, during one of his weak moments, told me his nurse use to let him out at full moons, and she’d use a dog whistle to call him back, she must be doing that now as he runs off and leaves me behind.

 

I have a special fate for her, molesting patients is a big no no, and she’s going to pay for that.

 

Struggling to my feet I press my hand to my side and start the long walk home, it’s been years, decades since I’ve been in Beacon Hills and I almost get turned around a few times, but I make it back before dad and I wash all of the blood away, cleaning up the wound I fall onto my bed and recite a simple spell to keep away any infections, though it’s useless against the Bite itself, I just don’t want to get a fever while I wait to find out if the Bite took or not.

 

I needn’t have worried, in the morning the Bite is half the size, I’m going to be a werewolf.  Gazing into the bathroom mirror I look at the teen boy I used to be, the buzzed cut hair, the pale skin from staying in and playing video games, the moles I used to hate until I learned my lovers always traced patterns with them, the big brown eyes that will get me a lot of what I want, and I nod at my reflection, I’m as ready as I’m ever going to be, now all I have to do is survive High School the second time around, and this time as a werewolf.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG so many lovely comments/reviews, no pressure then to make this good lol… Thank you all.

“Missed you baby,” I pat my jeep and smile, damn she was never the same after getting most of her insides ripped out by a kraken, there was nothing any mechanic could do for her, and if nothing else, coming back in time for her and dad, a dad who was surprised at the long hard hug he got this morning, is awesome, god I have missed both of them so much.

 

Jumping out I amble up the steps to the school, god I’ve even missed this place, it was hell on earth for me as a teen but I’ve been tortured for real, I’ve been a slave with no rights, I’ve nearly died hundreds of times, and I’ve personally saved the world twice, all my own, and there was the other six times if you count the ones with Scott and Lydia.  I can totally survive High School.

 

Probably.

 

I forgot what a complete dick Jackson used to be as I watch him and Scott tangle near Scott’s bike.

 

Scott.

 

Damn it hurt when he died, but I have him back now and he’s going to be just fine, because I will destroy anyone that harms him in anyway, including this version of Jackson.

 

Magic takes years to learn, and decades to master, luckily I have both on my side, I mutter the spell under my breath and bound over to Scott as I babble about lacrosse and First String and video games. Behind us, well away from us, the Porsche suddenly groans and then three of the four tyres collapse into flats.

 

“Did you see that?” Scott slaps my shoulder, I must be turning into a werewolf already because it doesn’t sting at all.

 

“See what?” I spin and look around before pointing at Jackson’s car, “Dude did he drive all the way here with flats?”

 

“No it just happened,” Scott’s eyes are wide and he fishes in his pocket for his inhaler, taking a hit from it he says, a bit breathlessly, “Three of them just went, it was freaky.”

 

“Bro…” I nod wisely and damn it this being a teenager is going to be harder than I thought, there’s so much I have to not say, and it’s weird not being able to talk to Scott about the supernatural shit going on.

 

Jackson scurries around his car wringing his hands and Lydia leaves him to walk past me, I’m trying to remember what the hell I was into at this time of my life and I mention that Scott and I need to catch up with our TV as our gaming is getting in the way.  Ignoring Lydia, because we’re not friends and probably never will be now, I convince Scott that sometime this week we are getting together to movie marathon, damn I’m going to have to go online to see what movies are out and which are pending, shit has Captain America 4 come out yet or not?  And the Justice League trilogy, god those years were a blur of running, screaming, flailing and trying not to die.

 

“Stiles, are you okay?” Scott asks me looking concerned.

 

“Yeah, why?” Shit what have I done wrong? 

 

“Nothing, it’s just that you ignored Lydia, and you’ve been in love with her forever…” He trails off confused and I mentally curse for forgetting that, I so used to being her friend now, it slipped my mind what an idiot I was for her.

 

“I’m good Scott, I was merely temporarily blinded by the sun glinting from her beautiful strawberry blonde locks of perfection as if they were made from liquid gold and blessed by angels,” there that’s suitably flowery and over the top.

 

“Okay,” and like that Scott lets it slide.  I got lucky that Scott’s human senses are as dull as his werewolf ones.

 

I survive my first day back all the way to English and try not bang my head on my desk because Kafka sucks balls, big time, I’ve never liked any of that writing.  And then someone’s cellphone rings and I glance about to see no one else reacting to it, weird, but then I can hear Allison talking, we’ve not spoken in years, I went to her funeral and held Scott as he broke down and her family threatened to shoot him in the head, god even his own son went to the dark side and joined the Hunters, it was a mess.  Scott didn’t last much longer after that, Allison was his anchor and his world, he just gave up, there was nothing I could do.  I tune back in to hear her mention leaving her pen at home and now I understand how Scott knew to offer her a pen on her first day at Beacon Hills.

 

Sliding one of mine out I lean over and hand it to Scott, let’s see if the little puppy can work out what to do with it when she walks in.  I’m unsurprised by the confused look on his face, but then in comes Allison and even now human!Scott is mesmerised by her, yeah, I guess some things are written in stone and can’t be changed, they’re meant to be, the pen is handed over to her and Allison smiles at Scott who smiles back.

 

Cool.

 

I totally set them up this time around, I hope it lasts and doesn’t fall apart, I know Chris never wanted his daughter caught up in this mess, he wanted her out of the Hunting business, if I can keep the lovebirds on the side-lines and distracted with each other I might be able to give them a chance to live out their lives together.

 

Things are going great through the day, school is so easy it’s almost embarrassing, with a lifetime of experience behind me I can breeze through this.  My new wolf hearing buzzes in and out, I work on controlling it and by the time it come to Lacrosse try outs I can zero in on any of the conversations happening around me.  Case in point, Allison is standing at her locker while Scott is next to me making puppy eyes at her, when Lydia walks up and asks about her jacket, Allison must give the right answer because Lydia accepts her then Jackson, the dick, is there and mocking Allison for not knowing about Lacrosse, and for bowing out of the party on Friday night due to a family thing, the party that will be on the full moon, the one Scott insisted on going to the first time around, the one where Derek took Allison home and Scott got shot by Allison’s dad later on in the woods.

 

Shit, I totally forgot today is the day that Scott joined the Lacrosse team for real, his wolfy powers gave him an edge and I plan how to hide my own wolfy powers as we walk to the boy’s locker room.  I cannot give away that I’m a werewolf by suddenly being good at Lacrosse, I have to be the idiot, I have to be the Stiles they think I am.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all your lovely reviews and comments :)

I needn’t have worried about Lacrosse, I never made it off the bench to do anything, poor Scott was put in goal, just like last time, but with no wolfy reflexes he got pelted by balls a lot and left the field in abject humiliation.

 

My own hearing played up and every time Coach blew that fucking whistle my ears wanted to bleed.  But I did get to hear Allison stand up for Scott against Lydia and think he was brave for staying in goal the way he did, even without the wolf stuff she is still into him and I smile to myself as I invite the guy over to work on his English assignment.

 

Tonight is the night that Allison is going to hit a dog and go to the vets, all I have to do is work on Scott so he’ll have the guts to ask her out, and I have to convince him to take her to the movies and not to the party.  I need him inside and away from the forest on Friday, I need him and Allison safe from me and Peter.

 

Finding all the places I hide the snacks from dad I put them out and I’m just grabbing some sodas when Scott lets himself in the house, he’s still down about Lacrosse and losing his chance at being on the team.

 

“I can’t believe Coach did that,” he’s whining and I don’t care, because he’s alive to whine about it, “I can totally be on the team, just because I’m not Jackson doesn’t mean I can’t play.”

 

“Scott, my soul brother of another mother, we both know we can play, we both know we are little bundles of awesome, but just like some plants take longer to grow, like oaks are slower than birches, we’re still getting ready to bloom, the world isn’t really for us just yet, you wait and see.  And that Allison chick was totally checking you out,” I hand him some chips to munch on.

 

His face screws up, “So we’re trees now?” And I wait for it, “Allison was looking at me?” His eyes unfocus and I totally forgot what an idiot he looks like when he’s thinking about her.

 

“Yes Scott we are slow growing majestic trees that will outlast and outshine all of the idiots on the team, except Danny,” ah Danny, sweet Danny and his dimples right above that beautiful ass of his, “And she was totally checking you out, I heard her tell Lydia off for being mean about you, she said you were sweet,” okay so she didn’t go that far, but Scott has to believe he has a shot at her.  “I’m telling you I’ve never seen a girl look at either one of us like that man, she’s hooked on you already and all you did was hand her a pen.”

 

“Really?” Scott’s doing the hesitant thing, “I mean I didn’t make the team, and they all laughed at me today, why would she be interested in me?”  Oh maybe those soulful brown eyes you’re using on me for a start.  God we men are idiots when it comes to women, by the time we work out some of what they actually want it’s usually too late.

 

“Dude, on her first day of school you were nice to her, you haven’t been mean to her, you haven’t forced her to do anything she doesn’t want to, and bro you are underestimating the power of your big brown eyes, give her your shy smile and she’ll be all over you, women like to nurture, let her nurture, she’s used to dicks like Jackson treating her like dirt, let her know she’s the only one for you.”  I hand him his English book, “Or you could ask her if she can help you with your English, that’s a harmless in, you can talk and get to know each other and she won’t be able to resist your charms.”

 

“Maybe,” he doesn’t sound convinced.

 

“Scott, I need you to promise me, that if by some miracle you bump into Allison outside of school, and it’s just you two, you are going to ask her to the movies this Friday, she probably has a family thing, you know because they just moved here,” And shit I’m not supposed to know that, “So you need something small and short to do together.”

 

Laughing at me Scott nods, “Right because I’m going to bump into Allison outside of school…”

 

“I mean it Scott, you promise me,” I make him pinky swear and we go back to Kafka because the guy is a moron, why can’t we do Shakespeare, I like Shakespeare.

 

Staying in and studying means we don’t go to the woods, because there is no inhaler to find, so we won’t meet Derek today, he will however, find his sister’s body, the body I’m going to have to dig back up, again, and put somewhere it can be found, now all I have to do is put some kind of false evidence there to link Laura’s death to Kate.

 

I help Scott with the rest of his homework and walk him to the door, “Remember Scott, if you see Allison you have to ask her to see a movie, not to the stupid party, a movie.”

 

“Right,” He’s indulging me, “I promise Stiles, see you tomorrow for more try outs.”

 

Waving like a loon as he bikes away he manages not to crash and I wait for him to go around the corner, now is the time to plan my evening.  I can ignore the body for now, it’s easier to let Derek do all the work at the moment, but the nurse and Peter need to be managed.

 

Hmm, I need to get the nurse out of the way as permanently as I can, and then I need to not lose control of my werewolf side, this is the bit I can’t predict, I’ve never been a werewolf, and I’ve seen plenty of new wolves, I can guess at what my anchors are, Scott, Dad, Lydia, but grasping them and staying human?  This is a big gamble, if I lose control Peter gains the upper hand and I may accidently kill people for him, if I can keep control then I can woo him, I can keep him distracted so I can get Kate’s accomplices to turn themselves in and that will build an air tight case against her.

 

Urgh this plan sounded so much better in the future.

 

It has to work.

 

It just has to, we screwed so much up that it exploded in our faces, we never stood a chance, but now we do and I’m not going to waste it.

 

Going upstairs I change into my school tracksuit and pull out an old black t-shirt, putting it all on I check out my reflection, no this won’t do.  In the future I had the high end melee fabrics, special liquids that would halt most projectiles and light weight mesh for knives were woven into them.  I could move without restriction and still stay as safe as possible.

 

I might be a werewolf but wolfsbane and mountain ash just became my enemies not my friends.  Luckily no one here knows what I am, my advantage will serve me well in the short term.  It should buy me time to make something better armour wise.

 

Opening my window I step out onto the roof and then I drop down to the ground.  Yeah I could totally get used to this part of being young again, my knees where shot by the end and I hobbled for the last two decades, surgery and replacements can only do so much.

 

Running for the woods I overshoot because I’m not used to moving so fast and then it’s like the world around me slows down a little, I move at what feels like my normal speed, but my strides are longer, my feet just seem to know where they need to go and I may give a war whoop and do a few running jumps, just because I can.

 

Oh man, no wonder Scott didn’t mind this part of being a werewolf.

 

Falling to all fours, which always looked stupid to me, I find it really is easier to run this way, the forest floor is carpeted with leaves and they don’t even make crunching noises as I almost fly over the top of them, I speed through the forest silently and revel in my new found mode of transport.

 

Oh yeah, there are some perks to being a werewolf.

 

Swinging around the town I work my way to the part where the damn nurse lives and then I execute the most perfect leap up into a tree that gives me an excellent view of her house.   Twisting my head I tune my ears in and sure enough there’s one heartbeat coming from her tiny little house.

 

Settling in to wait I scheme and set up the spells I’ll need to pull this off.

 

I have to get her out of the way, but not kill her, and I need what she’s been doing to the other patients to be discovered so she can be punished.  By removing her I’ll weaken Peter, he’ll be more reliant on me for help, I’ll have more leverage over him and that means control.

 

Control is good.

 

Control gives me the power to do this thing right.


	4. Chapter 4

Stuck up the tree I practice with my hearing some more, the faster I can learn to use my new abilities the faster I can wrap this whole thing up, I listen into conversations, to heartbeats of the humans here and the animals too.  Using the heartbeats I can zero in on the birds in the trees, my night vision helping me to pick them out in the branches of the other trees.

 

Scents waft to me on the night breeze and I can hear the distant rumbling of thunder in the distance, that certain something in the air heralding the rain to come, the rain that will distract Allison so she doesn’t see the dog, the dog that will lead her to Scott.

 

Inside her house the nurse is getting ready for her shift tonight, she grabs her keys and walks outside without a care in the world, I’ll make sure she never makes it to her car, the car she would end up stuffed inside after Peter killed her.

 

In a way I’m doing her a favour, this time around she gets to live.

 

Albeit in prison.

 

The path leading from her house to her car is made up of stones, well laid stones, but they shift under her feet at my command.  With a cry she falls to the ground and the sickeningly loud crack of bone is shockingly audible to my new werewolf hearing, I can literally hear the bone splinter in her leg.

 

I can also hear the moment her heart falters at the injury and then the speeding of her heart as adrenaline floods her body.  She’s already fumbling for her phone as I stealthily slink out of the tree, she’s calling for an ambulance to come get her, so I’m free to run off into the night, and head to the care facility housing Peter.

 

She’ll be out of the way for a few weeks, more than enough time to get her arrested for the horrible things she’s done to her patients and this will sever any bond she has with Peter, allowing me to usurp it instead.

 

Reaching the facility I use all my normal skills to infiltrate it and hide from the employees, the werewolf hearing comes in handy to help me duck out of sight at the right times.  I make my way to the pharmacy, and dredge up late night conversations with Peter, I go to the right filing cabernet just out of the way and round the corner, the one with the wonky handle, and inside I find the drugs the bitch has been using on the patients.  Peter would lay awake and hear the drawer every night, then he’d hear her administer this stuff to the patients, it’s a weird cocktail that kept them in comas, and would eventually kill most of them, she’s a true psychopath and an angel of mercy, no one was getting out of here alive, and then she discovered Peter and the way his body didn’t react to the drugs.

 

One pair of medical gloves later and I transport the evidence to her locker, it’s on the other side for the facility, and I duck and dodge people and video cameras all the way.  I make it and quickly discern her number combination, the tumblers inside the cheap lock are no match for my ears.  Inside her locker I place the evidence as obviously and as clearly as I can.  They can’t miss it when they open up the door and I smile as I close it and relock it.

 

Mission accomplished.

 

Strolling out I head for a convenient exit and then run across the back lawn to the woods, Peter will be here soon and I want to be ready for him.

 

Climbing up a tree, with a good view of Peter’s windows, I sprawl over the large branch and mentally pat myself on the back, which is when I notice that the net curtains in Peter’s bathroom are moving slightly, tuning my ears to them I can’t hear anything but the faintest whisper of wind as it enters a window that’s ajar.

 

That’s strange.

 

Peter said the nursing staff always kept the windows closed, it was another bone of contention for him, he could sometimes see outside but he could never smell it except when he was with the nurse, it drove him nuts, well probably not literally but it didn’t help.

 

And the forest around me is absolutely silent.

 

The hairs on the back of my neck stand up as I berate myself for not checking to see if Peter was actually in his room, it’s a rookie mistake and I made it.  Well it’s too late now.  I retune my hearing to scan the forest around me, the tiny little heartbeats hidden away are pounding so hard that I know a predator is here, whether it’s me or Peter has yet to be decided.

 

Another heartbeat catches my attention, it’s loud, strong and slow.  It’s also coming from a dark patch of forest where there is a convenient large bush big enough to hide an elephant in, and trust me those fuckers can hide behind a blade of grass before springing out at you, no wonder they’re they number one killer animal in Africa, you never see them coming until it’s too late, good thing Derek’s such a fast runner he distracted her so I could get to the jeep and the bitch still nearly outran me in that.

 

In the bush a pair of red eyes show and focus on me.

 

I forgot how fucking sneaky Peter was when he was this crazy, his instincts were cunning and very set on a few simply, yet deadly goals.  He wants to kill anyone and everyone involved in the Hale fire, and he wants, no he needs, a Pack again.

 

Dropping to the ground I crouch down and make my eyes move away so I’m giving off as many submissive vibes as I can.  Crooning softly I interspace that with little yips and grunts like pups would.  God I hope my little plan when I was Bitten works, he should remember me, he should feel safe and dominant around me.

 

Now all I have to do is wait and let him come to me.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again thank you so much of all comments, kudos etc, glad you like it so far :)

Only the barest of rustles from the bush gives me any indication that Peter’s moving, that and the placement of his heartbeat is now more to the left, it’s not closer and he seems to be circling me for some reason.  He’s moving slowly and sniffing the air, he’s scenting me, I stay still and keep up the crooning and pup noises.

 

By the fifth time around the circle he starts to make little feints in towards me, I deliberately roll over onto my back and bare my neck and stomach to him.  If he sees me as a potential Pack Beta, which he should because he’s not attacking me, he’ll see this as me asking him to be my Alpha.

 

Peter goes still and the sniffing noises get louder, he’s trying to get a bead on my emotional state, even now he’s capable of being a very emotionally manipulative fucker.  Mostly he tried to inspire fear the first time around, I need to show him I’m not afraid and I’m not a threat.

 

Step by slow step he comes closer and closer.  He’s testing the waters with me, I don’t move and stay where I am.

 

He’s less than a foot away when he suddenly pounces, it takes a lot of will power to shove down the automatic response to lash out at him, I let him pin me to the floor and I let those jaws open and I don’t flinch when they settle around my throat.  Werewolf healing or not, getting my throat ripped out isn’t something I’m coming back from and I know my heart has sped up.

 

We stay like that for what seems is an eternity but it’s really only a minute, I was counting the seconds, it’s one of my many learned skills to handle my ADHD, and then Peter moves back, not much and he’s poised to attack but at least his teeth aren’t around my neck any more.

 

Scott and Derek have always maintained that you can tell a lot with your wolfy senses, not just smell and hearing, but that something that all animals seem to possess to tell them when earthquakes are coming and other stuff, I’ve always maintained that it’s just the ability to hear outside of the human range, that the rumble is audible to them for an unknown reason, it usually earned me a bitch look from Derek.  I have no idea how to engage those animal senses so I try out my new sniffer nose.

 

Scott was able to smell wrapped mints in my pocket, and he worked out various emotional things very quickly, when he was paying attention, so I try sniffing the air.

 

All I get is forest, and then it hits me like a damn freight train.

 

I can smell the loam of the earth, the leaves that sit on top of it, the trees, the living leaves, the bugs, the various fungi, my deodorant, my shower gel and shampoo, the curly fries I had for lunch, the grass from the nearby lawn, feathers on the birds, and fur, I can smell fur.

 

It’s like my ADHD on a bad day ramped up by a million, I can’t concentrate on anything, and then the smells mingle in with the sounds and I think I’ve curled up in a ball as my senses are assaulted by everything all at once.

 

I have no idea what’s up or down, I vaguely know where I am but I don’t remember why.  Arms slide around me and I cling to the warmth that comes with them, the world blurs around me and we might be moving.

 

The smells and sounds abruptly change and mute down a little.  There is water, and damp, and stone, and fur.  The main sounds are my own frantic heartbeats, a slow heartbeat, and running water in the background.

 

Syncing my heart and breathing to someone else’s is something my mom taught me to do when she got sick, it’s easy and I claw my way back from the overload I just experienced.  I know I’m with Peter and in theory I should be on my guard, but it’s been decades since I lost control like that, learning magic teaches some serious discipline and I’m more shaken by that than anything else.  I knew becoming a werewolf wouldn’t be easy but I didn’t factor in that, I may have to rethink my plans and change up some things before going any further.

 

Though my little freak out has managed to get Peter curled up with me in some sort of cave.  This is good, the Pack Bond must be happening if he took me to safety and protected me.  Cuddling into him I let my head droop, he’s warm and snuggly and I’ve missed him, though he’s technically insane right now, in a few months, more of Peter will be coming back, he’ll heal himself physically and his brain will be better.

 

Reaching out I find the base of his ear and scratch it gently, he rumbles at me and it sounds like a growl but I know his growls and this is his happy growl.  I keep scratching and his growl ends up resembling a cat’s purr, if a cat could purr in a scary rip your backbone out of your body and beat you with it kind of way.

 

With less stimuli on my new senses I soon start to fall asleep, damn Scott used to make this look so easy, maybe I can talk him into pelting me with lacrosse balls or something.

 

*

 

Stretching I can hear water running and roll over to wait for my turn in the shower, only to end up with a face full of leaves.

 

Sitting up I stare around to find myself still in the cave from last night, damn it, I though Peter would have at least carried me home or been here when I woke up.

 

Yawning I get to my feet and work out a few kinks in my body from sleeping on the ground, holy mother of god being young again is awesome, no more creaks in my knees and my lower back, or my shoulders, seriously this is wasted on kids, they have no idea how good they’ve got it.

 

Sauntering out I greet the day and jump down the side of the hill to the stream below, I get a few handfuls of water to drink and then try to get my bearings.  Hmm I think I need to go that way.

 

Jogging in the early morning misty forest I grin to myself, my plan is working, okay so the wolfy powers need more polishing off and it’ll take me longer to get a handle on them than I thought it would, but the nurse is out of the way, she’s being set up to take the rap for everything she’s done to the patients in her care, and Peter spent the night with me doing wolfy bonding and snuggling, he’ll carry my scent all day, and I’ll carry his.

 

A twig snaps in the forest and I freeze in surprise berating myself for not paying more attention.

 

Damn, the hunters shouldn’t be out here yet.

 

Sniffing the air I can’t smell anything beyond water in the air and the forest itself, oh and I may need a shower, pronto, ew, I didn’t know I could smell bad like that.  Listening hard I get lucky when another twig snaps and a heartbeat catches my attention allowing me to zero in on a shape in the gloom.

 

It’s only Peter and I breathe out in relief, “Dude what the hell are you trying to do to me, give me a heart attack?”  Walking over to him I ask him, “You want me to walk you home?  Get you all comfy in bed to hide for the day?  They shouldn’t find you missing Peter, they’ll ask questions…”

 

All I get in return are a few grunts and then he’s bounding off and I run after him, “Peter, where are you going?  Dude the care home is the other way, dude!”

 

Only he leads me a merry chase in the woods and instead of slowing down he speeds up, to the point that I go to all fours to speed up too and keep up with him, damn he can move fast as an Alpha, it doesn’t help when the bastard can jump that well either.

 

Panting I do finally catch him up and lean on a tree near him, “Seriously, was that necessary?”  And then I stop talking because we’re at my house, he’s lead me home, how the fuck does he know who I am already, and how does he know where I live?

 

In the house I can hear my dad in what must be the kitchen, and then he’s yelling, “STILES! Breakfast, come on, you’ll be late!”

 

“Shit,” I glance at my watch, “Shit I’m late,” I look over at Peter who’s crouched down and looking as innocent as an insane crazy werewolf can, “I have to go Peter,” I hesitate, “Unless  you need me to walk you home?”

 

“STILES!” Dad’s yelling my name again.  “Don’t make me come up there!”

 

Staring back at the house I can spot the way to my bedroom easily enough and I turn to Peter to try and talk him into waiting for me so I can drive him back but the forest is empty of killer werewolves, well I can’t spot him anyway and when I listen for his heartbeat I can’t hear him.

 

“Crap,” I mutter and run for my room, he should be safe, very little can hurt him at the moment, it’s more everyone else in the town that I’m worried about.


	6. Chapter 6

Scrambling up to my bedroom I almost fall in the window and hurry to get dressed, my dirty clothes are shoved under my bed, I’ll clean up later, and I struggle into new clothes.

 

Stuffing my school bag with things that I hope are right I bolt down the stairs and stumble into the kitchen, “Hey Dad, did you mention breakfast?”

 

“Yes I did, now sit,” he points to the table and the plate sitting there ready for me.

 

“’Kay,” I slump into my chair and start chewing on my pancakes.  The special ones with the special syrup for dad, it doesn’t taste that bad and the good news is I know this works and he lives until he’s ninety seven and dies peacefully in his sleep.  It hurt and I’m glad I get to spend time with him again, I know how precious each moment is.

 

“Those results from the tests came back,” Dad puts his own plate down, he’s frowning as he cuts up a pancake, “I have no idea how wolf hair got in the wounds…”

 

Choking on my pancake I stare at dad, shit I’d forgotten about that, “Wolf hair?” My voice may squeak too, “But there haven’t been any wolves in California since…” Since the Hale fire, well if you don’t count Peter being in a coma.

 

“I know, it’s a puzzle, we’ll get there though,” Dad has his thinking face on, all I have to do is give him the right pieces and he’ll put it together and solve Laura’s murder and the arson at the same time.

 

At school I hunt down Scott and damn the sniffer nose comes in handy I can literally follow his trail and there he is gazing adoringly at Allison, an Allison that’s holding his hand, wait, they didn’t get together that quickly before, guess my advice to Scott worked.

 

“Hey bro, who is this stunningly beautiful lady you are holding hands with?” I tease him knowing exactly who she is.

 

“Oh Stiles,” Scott blinks and it’s amusing to see his brain click, “Stiles this is Allison,” his voice is worshipful and full of awe.  “She brought a dog to the vets, we helped the dog,” his eyes are unfocusing and he’s going goo-goo eyed over her, “And then I blurted out about the movies and Allison said yes…”

 

Allison smiles at Scott and I can almost hear the little love birds twittering around their heads now, “Yes, Scott was a hero last night, I don’t know what I would have done if he hadn’t helped me save the dog,” oh, so Allison wasn’t into him because of the Lacrosse thing, it was the hero saving dog thing.  Damn I wish the old Scott was here so I could crow over this revelation.

 

“Awesome, but then that’s Scott for you,” I sling my arm around him, “He’s been my bro and hero for years, ever since he stood up to Jackson in middle school,” and I spin her the tale of Scott and the school hamster verses Jackson, it may involve some over the top exaggeration but I get Allison to laugh at all the right bits and go ‘ah’ over the others, it also earns Scott a kiss on his cheek, “See, hero material if there ever was one.”

 

“Yes,” and now she’s gazing at him adoringly.

 

“So, are you going to watch us try out for the team?” I ask her, god I hope Scott doesn’t do anything stupid on the field and break a bone or have an asthma attack.

 

“No,” Scott shakes his head, “I’m not going to try out of the team,” and my jaw drops because he has to try out for the team, “Allison and I are going to go to the library after school, you know the homework club thing?”  And he’s doing the ‘I have a brilliant plan please go along with it look’, “She said she’d help me with my English…”

 

“You know that’s a great idea Scott,” I agree with him instantly, the sly dog has taken all my advice and bagged the girl, I know better than to barge in and be a third wheel,  “You guys totally have fun with that.”

 

“Oh you can come too Stiles,” Allison says and this is the innocent girl she used to be, before the supernatural wrecked her life, always earnest and sweet to everyone.

 

“That’s fine Allison, I have try outs to fail at,” I wave it off, “Time enough for study after that.”

 

“I’m sure you’ll fine at the try outs and make the team,” she’s being nice, and even Scott gives her an incredulous look at the thought of me making the team.

 

“Nah, I will fail spectacular, I only agreed because Scott and me have been practicing all summer,” at her distressed looked I add, “But frankly we’re useless at it, I’ve been thinking about taking up running, I’m good at running,” I was a genius at running when I was a teen, generally with both arms up as I screamed at the top of my lungs and fled with something nasty and evil chasing me.

 

“Oh,” she gives me a hesitant smile, “I didn’t mean to upset your plans.”

 

“You haven’t,” I leave Scott and move around to sling an arm around Allison’s shoulders, “Think of it this way, you’re saving us from a fate of Coach Finstock, of bench sitting, of having to be on a team with Greenburg,” she scrunches her nose up in confusion, “Don’t worry you’ll learn about Greenburg.  Where was I? Oh yeah, now I get to do running, Scott will get a beautiful tutor, that’s you by the way, no one’s grades will suffer, we’ll graduate and the world is our oyster,” I strike a pose and wink at them.  “Okay people let’s get to class.”

 

All in all I liked that little thing I did and Allison stays with us all day, she even sits with us a lunch and her and Scott gaze at each other, it’s ridiculously cute and I may take a few pictures, I want to capture this moment forever, memories fade and happy times should be remembered.

 

I walk them to the library for their ‘date’ and hum as I skip through the school to get changed for my epic moment of bench sitting.

 

Getting comfortable on my bench I go over my plan in my head, I have the nurse out of the way, Peter is bonding with me, though it’s scary he already knows where I live, so things are progressing.  All I have to do is wait until after the full moon to dig up the other half of Laura’s body, leave evidence to link the murder to Kate, and then start hunting down the arsonists, I’ll frighten them into turning themselves in…

 

“STILINSKI!” Coach is yelling at me, “MCCALL ISN’T HERE, SO GET OFF YOUR BUTT AND PLAY!”

 

Shuffling onto the field I spend twenty minutes dropping the ball, falling over my feet, whacking myself in the face with my stick, and generally being so useless the guys laugh themselves stupid at my antics.

 

“STILINSKI! GET THE HELL OFF OF MY FIELD,” Coach yells at me and I jog off to go and sit on the bench again.  And there I sit like a good little Stiles until the end when Coach calls out who made the team, my name isn’t on the list and I’m smiling as I saunter off the field, passing Lydia I ignore her, as I try to work out what to put near Laura’s body to link the murder to Kate.

 

In the shower I scrub down and get dressed as I decide that I’ll put some kind of mark in the mud, the best one would be a copy of the medallion that Kate’s going to give to Allison.  I have access to Allison and to Dad’s files, I can be the link, once dad has that there will be no way for Kate to escape him.

 

Happy with my idea I go home and finish all my homework, then I clean the house, get my dirty clothes from last night in the wash, and start to design some new body armour, I’ll need some version of a non-Newtonian fluid to stop bullets and other hard projectiles, but then I’m going to need that new webbing that was just coming out to stop cuts and sharp things, between the two of them they should protect me from most attackers.

 

I’ll need to leave my fingertips free for claws, the armour will need to expand when I shift, and I need to cover my face and head, no need to give away my identity.

 

Very few of the materials I need currently exist so I’m going to have to cheat and this kind of magic will be very time consuming, thank god Scott has a girlfriend now to keep him out of trouble.

 

Speaking of Scott I get the equivalent of a fist pump from him via text, his ‘date’ went well and his life is picking up.

 

Dad comes home as I finish my design and I go to bed, it’s easy enough to sink into the meditative state I need to slip into sleep quickly, and this way I’ll only need four hours of sleep, I need to start on my armour quickly, it won’t be long until the full moon and then things really kick off.


	7. Chapter 7

With everything falling into place I try on my new body armour and grin to myself, it fits like a glove, like a second skin that will keep me safe.  The colours aren’t traditionally black like I’ve always wanted them to be, no they are a random mixture of dark greens, greys, browns with a few touches of blues, reds and purples, all to help break up my outline when I’m hiding and the material itself changes those colours depending on heat, humidity and other factors, this makes it even harder to look at me.

 

The tips of my fingers have slits for my claws, and I have a face mask that moulds to my face and I’ve built in ridges so facial recognition won’t work.  My eyes have a very thin film over them, enough to protect them from simple things but I can still see out of them, I had to do adjustments as the first lot interfered with my new night vision.

 

I also had to compromise on my ears, the material has to be thinner there too or I my new senses get screwed up. And I can’t bite people through the material so I’ve taken that bit out altogether.  I’ve added a hood to the ensemble, which looks kinda cool when it’s up and my eyes glow amber under the cowl.

 

Checking myself out in the mirror I have to hide my grin because I look like a damn superhero from those comics I used to love.  Though thinking of Batman I should add belts or other pocket things to carry evidence or useful items, I only have two hands after all.

 

Peeling it all off I hide it in my closet and get my homework up to date.

 

The moonlight filters down into my room and my skin is itchy, tomorrow is the full moon, tomorrow we’ll find out if my lifetime worth of meditation is any match against the wolf, I can feel this thing inside, it’s me, the darker side of me, and I have built up a lot of dark over my life.

 

I spend the night in meditation and think about my dad and Scott as much as I can, I’ve loved them both since forever, they have been my corner stones for years, because of them I’ve done some really stupid shit to protect them, and because of them I’ve not gone dark side because I’ve known how disappointed in me they would be.

 

It’s hard to get my internal balance right, the wolf thing is throwing it off, I’m used to me and my magic, the wolfy thing is extra and it fucks with my ADHD, I can hear every little nose, I can smell things, usually rank things as I’m surrounded by teenagers all day and do they have to act like they invented sex and go at it like bunnies?

 

Getting back on track I go back to meditating and by morning I have a type of equilibrium going, I’m in control and my wolf is as invested in dad and Scott as I am, they are our family our Pack, without them we are Omega.

 

Except that makes me think of Peter and how he smelt as we curled up sleeping together in the cave, and my wolf sits up and wants to be with Peter, doing whatever Peter wants us to do, because pleasing Peter is a good thing, the best thing and I have to rein my wolf in.  Peter’s insane right now, he doesn’t understand how this is all going to blow up in his face, he needs to me protect him while he’s healing. 

 

That kind of reasoning my more instinctive wolfy side does understand and seems to go along with.

 

School is hell and I grumble through it, I have to lie to Scott and Allison, I hear the blip in my heart as I tell them I have a headache and it really hurts.  Allison gives me medication for it but my body metabolises it so quickly that if I had a headache it wouldn’t have worked.

 

Being quiet and miserable freaks my teachers out so badly they let me go to the Nurses Office and I doze off for a few hours.  I’m still cranky when I wake up but I’m able to put on an act to get through the last bit of school.

 

Wishing Scott and Allison the best I leave them thinking I’m going to bed early and slope off home, my homework was up to date as of yesterday so now all I have to do is wait for nightfall.

 

Dad phoned to say he’ll be working late, something about the care facility, I hope Peter’s okay and will be able to ride out the full moon tonight on his own, he’s hiding himself really well so I have faith that he’ll keep it up.

 

Though that reminds me and I slip out of my window with one of dad’s shirts, I make it unseen to Scott’s and leap up to his room, his old t-shirt is easy to find, his mom is right he really needs to put his laundry in the basket.

 

Putting the two articles of clothing together gives me almost the right scent of home, there’s only one thing missing.

 

Peter.

 

Scurrying to the care facility I sneak in the side door where the laundry goes in and out and hit pay dirt.  A set of Peter’s sheets, and they must have been changed today.

 

Dragging my smelly cargo triumphantly into the growing gloom, I navigate back to the little cave that Peter found for me, I know the Hunters will be in the forest tonight, they believe that all werewolves are dangerous creatures that crave only blood and hunt down all living things…  The Hunters can be such dicks at times.

 

Making myself a nice little nest I settle into it and curl up, I let my nose fill with dad, Scott and Peter.  Having something so tangible gives me a fighting chance as the moon rises up and CALLS to me.

 

The night is full of life and I’m hungry.

 

But here under my nose is something better than blood, and flesh and the crunch of bones.  Here is warmth, and love, and everything that matters.

 

My anchors hold and I spend the night safe and sound.

 

As night sinks down the moon’s call is still strong but my wolf and I aren’t listening to her, we’re listening to Pack and family.

 

Gathering up my makeshift bed I jog through the morning mist and head for home, the clothes go in the laundry and Peter’s bedding gets shoved under my bed, I’m not sure how to return it to him, I’ll work something out.

 

Showering I wash off the grim and dirt and then hunt in the kitchen for breakfast, dad’s left me a message to say that he’ll be back soon and that the girl I like was at the station first thing to report her jacket missing.

 

Girl I like?

 

Oh Lydia. I wonder where she lost her jacket?  Shrugging it off I stuff my face and slump on the sofa, an old program I used to like comes on and I smile remembering old times, then I realise this is the first time this episode has ever aired and I sigh, this one is good but the next one is better.

 

The rumble of the cruiser pulls to a stop outside and I amble into the kitchen to start making him some food.  “Stiles!”  Its dad letting me know he’s home, “I’m back.”

 

“Hey dad, what do you want in your omelette?” I yell back knowing that he’s getting the low fat stuff anyway.

 

“You’re cooking?” He sounds surprised, “Since when do you cook?  And that smells nice…” He gives me a funny look and I mentally smack myself, I didn’t really learn to cook until college, there is only so many times you can eat take out before you want to barf, okay so maybe the takeout I could afford was probably chopped rat surprise disguised as chicken, but hey, it got me cooking.

 

“First time for everything…” I shrug it off.  “So how did the all nighter go?” I fish for information.

 

“Fine, it was lucky we found the evidence right there in her locker, the doctors are going nuts and testing patients, though I overheard some of the other nurses talking, without that stuff in their veins some of the patients might start waking up now.”

 

“Cool,” I nod and act impressed, “Here sit I have your breakfast ready,” I serve up the omelette and watch as he prods it with his fork, he’s acting like it could poison him.

 

Taking a tentative bite his eyes widen and he takes a bigger bite, “This is good, son, really good.”

 

“Thanks,” I preen under the praise.

 

“So that jacket,” he says with his mouth full and I shake my head at him, seriously he spent years trying to get me to stop doing that, it never worked.  Exaggerating his swallow he carries on, “I got a call from Jefferies, something about lights in the woods last night,” must have been the Hunters, “The Forest Rangers and some of the morning shift went out there in case the murderer had come back and they radioed in, weirdly they found the jacket hanging up nearby.”

 

“WHAT!” I stiffen in shock, didn’t dad say the missing jacket was Lydia’s?  Why the hell would it be hanging up in the forest?

 

“Yeah, and the strangest part,” he leans forward, “One of the rangers found tracks, lots of footprints, but he swears one of them looks like a paw print.”

 

“Huh,” I say weakly and try to remember what the fuck happened last time, I’m drawing a blank I was too busy making sure Allison was safe and worrying about Scott.

 

It can’t have been Jackson as a Kanima because the dick hasn’t been bitten.

 

Baffled and worried I spend the rest of the day listening to Scott talk about Allison and the most perfect date in the history of dating.  The movie was good and he’s blissfully happy.  To the point that I slaughter him on the gaming field and he doesn’t even notice.

 

He’s such a sap it’s cute.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For all those puzzled by the jacket, that was a mystery of the 1st episode as Allison’s jacket went missing and was hanging up in a tree for Scott to find, right before the Hunters shot him with a crossbow bolt.

Strolling into school on Monday I go looking for Scott, he is of course with Allison, but they’re leaning on my locker, which is kind of awesome that they’re trying to include me and I may go a little over board with hugging them both.

 

Laughing Scott nudges me, “You’re in a good mood man, headache all better?”

 

“Yeah, much,” I pull a face, “That was not nice bro.”

 

And then Allison is petting my head, “I’m glad you’re better Stiles.”

 

“Thanks.”

 

Going to class I skid through as I make plans. Scott has another ‘study’ date with Allison tonight and he may actually get somewhere with his history this time.  This leaves me free to go out to the Hale house and check to see if Derek’s buried his sister’s body yet.

 

I actually do feel bad about digging her up but I need her to help bring justice for her family and I really hope she understands that.

 

At lunch I sit with Scott and Allison when I suddenly sniff a familiar perfume, and then Lydia’s sitting next to me and glaring at Allison, with a mock friendly tone she says, “Hello Allison, how did your family night go on Friday?”

 

“Fine,” Allison shifts in her chair and she’s a terrible liar, or she used to be.

 

“Hmm, because I heard a rumour, which I know had to have been false, saying that you went to the movies with…” Lydia waves her hand towards Scott and she probably doesn’t know his name, after all he never made the team so he’s not on her radar.

 

“Yeah, they did,” I step in and do my best harmless goofball act, “I totally owe Allison for that,” I turn to her, “Really thanks so much, I’m sorry for ditching, I just couldn’t shake that damn headache, I hope your folks didn’t mind the last minute plans and Scott really wanted to see that movie.”

 

Looking like she’s just bitten into a lemon Lydia huffs but can’t think of how to snark at Allison just yet, “Well, that was nice of you.”

 

“Yeah,” Scott’s back to gazing at Allison like she set the moon and stars, “Isn’t she amazing…”

 

“Aren’t they ardorkable,” I murmur and snap another picture, seriously I like being able to photograph Scott without worrying about the eye thing, it’s great.

 

And then I hear another camera go off, I swing around to find crazy Matt on the other side of the cafeteria, he’s pointing his camera at Allison and lining up for another shot of her, Holy mother of god, how soon after she transferred did the creepy little stalker start after her and we didn’t notice because of all the werewolf shit going on?

 

Concentrating I grunt a few words and then Matt’s jumping and the camera falls from his hands to land with a crash on the floor.  Even if that didn’t break the thing I’ve magnetised it, any and all data on there will have been wiped, damn I may have to step up on a few plans like Isaac’s dad.

 

Turning back I find Lydia staring at me thoughtfully, that’s not a good sign, smiling at her I open my mouth and spew forth various comments of her awesomeness and do my best ‘vapid Scott’ impression, it must work because she leaves the table and goes back to Jackson.

 

“Bro,” Scott is giving me puppy eyes, “I know you love her, and that you’ve already worked out your wedding and your kid’s names, but you may have to face up to the fact that she’ll never realise how awesome you are,” he reaches over the table to pat my hand, “I totally believe that your Allison is out there,” he gives her a doopy smile, “And when you find her she’s going to change your life.”

 

They go back to staring at each other so I can swipe some of their food, I’m hungrier than normal, probably due to the werewolf thing.

 

“Thanks Scott,” I tell him, “But you know what I’m like about Lydia…”

 

“Yeah…” His answer is faint but there.

 

Thankfully the rest of the day is quiet but the incident with Matt opens my eyes a little.  Boyd is off by himself all day, and when I pass him all I smell is loneliness.  Erika is a mess and her arms are wrapped around her middle like she’s trying to hold herself together, there’s no hint of the confident catwoman in her at all, and people point and snigger at her as she passes them, she smells of misery and pain.  And then there’s Isaac, a boy who’s as invisible as the others and he moves so carefully like any sudden movements will cause him agony, which they probably will because he stinks of fear, hopelessness, and fresh wounds.

 

Now I know why Derek zeroed in on them so quickly.

 

And there’s no way I can leave them without helping them.

 

I wasn’t there for Erika when she needed me, I wasn’t the Batman she deserved, and she died.  She died because I couldn’t protect anyone from the frigging Kanima that was Jackson under Matt’s and then Gerard’s control. So she ran away, and ran straight into the Alpha’s.  She never got to grow up and go to college, she never got to have that life without the threat of her epilepsy.

 

Boyd turned out to be okay and we bonded over all kinds of weird shit, he went on to become an Alpha of another Pack, strong, dependable, and he learnt not to run away from the wrong fights.  He died peacefully surrounded by family and Pack and I sobbed like a baby at his funeral, I outlived him by just ten years before jumping back here.

 

Isaac and I never got on for ages, there was the him being a dick when we was first turned thing, and then him stealing Scott from me, I had to learn to share better and then to understand why he went so over the top after escaping his dad, we ended up friends and I was privileged that he trusted me enough to let me near him after he had a nightmare.

 

This time around they’ll get to live out their lives without danger.

 

I still have to get Laura’s body and quickly, then I have to head off Peter by getting Kate’s various accomplices to turn themselves in so I can get Kate carted off to jail and avenge the Hales, while knocking the Hunters back several steps and making their more murderous tendencies known.

 

This plan is getting more complicated and I hurry home to start.

 

Once there I change into my new costume, with added pockets which I made on Sunday, then I swing out of the house and head for the woods.  I won’t need a shovel I’ll dig her up with my magic.

 

Running through the woods is freeing.

 

I should never have laughed at Scott about his little jaunts, the smells are amazing and I feel like I could do this forever, just run and run and run.  I don’t tire, I don’t pant for breath, and it’s like this is what my body is designed for.

 

Except I have to slow down and then stop, I’m close to the Hale house and I check the wind direction, I want to sneak up on Derek, to make sure he doesn’t see me, he’ll hopefully leave soon and I can get to work.

 

Using my ninja stealth to sidle up on the Hale house I leap into a tree and settle in to wait.  Derek’s heartbeat is slow and steady, he must be asleep.  The Camero is sitting outside and damn that is still a nice car, he never let me drive it, which is unfair, I always took care of my jeep, and luckily it was Scott who totalled the Camero, not me, so it just goes to show he should have trusted me with her.

 

The sky is darkening when Derek wakes up and leaves to do mysterious wolfy things like go and buy food, at least he doesn’t chase Bambi’s mom down in the woods, I should be grateful for small mercies.

 

Listening to the fading rumble of the engine I ease out of my tree and follow my nose to the plot of freshly turned earth, the smell of wolfsbane makes me sneeze a little and I cheat outrageously by using magic to unearth Laura’s body, to the point that no one will know she was dug up because it looks just like Derek left it.  Complete with spiral.

 

Lifting her body up I lope off into the woods, I know the location I have to put her and it won’t take me long to get there.  It’s beside a well-used jogging path, and she’ll be found fairly quickly.

 

Reaching my destination I have to use more magic to partially bury her leaving her right hand and arm uncovered like a scavenger has dug her up, and then I have to find just the right spot in the mud to put a copy image of Kate’s medallion there.  This will link her to Laura’s murder, a murder the cops, and my dad, will assume was made to look like an animal attack.

 

Job done I scamper home and hearing a heartbeat in the house I leap up to my bedroom window to avoid awkward questions with dad, who must be home early, only to discover Peter Hale curled up on my bed.

 

He’s in his Alpha form and he must have dragged the sheets I borrowed from him out from under my bed because he’s made a nice nest of them and my own sheets.

 

His eyes gleam red and he huffs at me.

 

Freezing I blink at him and this was totally not what happened last time.  Scott never said anything about Peter coming to his house, not until we found out Peter was the Alpha and then it was only so Peter could pick Scott’s mom up on a date.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the lovely reviews :)

Wiggling on my bed, Peter makes some room on the bed, and when I stay frozen half in my window he pats the bed like he’s inviting me there.

 

Stumbling in I leave the window open and edge towards the bed.

 

Technically I’m higher than him right now which he could see as being dominant, instead he moves over some more and I slide onto the bed, in my body armour, the same body armour he sniffs from a distance.

 

“Um, I can change…” I hint but then one of his paws lands on my leg holding me in place and “Or I can just stay here…”

 

Bit by bit Peter inches closer and then I’m being manoeuvred carefully like I’m a ragdoll he wants to cuddle, and we end up with me snuggled into him, he’s so much bigger in his Alpha form, and he has this weird fur in some places and bare patches in others thing going on.

 

Reaching up and around I scratch at his ear and get his happy rumble again, with a sigh his eyes close and he drops his head onto me, he’s relaxing into me and this is a good thing.

 

Him turning up at my house all wolfy isn’t such a good thing.

 

Laying there I go over the events and how they happened the first time.  Peter spent most of his time trying to get Scott to join him, to be part of his Pack, I’ve not fought Peter on that at all, in fact I’ve embraced him, literally.  Next up on Peter’s agenda should be bonding through acts of violent homicide, which will coincide with his revenge rampage.

 

Either I need to distract Peter or I need to get the first person on the list into police custody and singing like a canary before Peter can get to him.

 

Glancing at him I wonder if this time around it could actually work between us, there was the slight set him on fire and kill him thing that got in the way, plus what he did to Lydia and the murderous rampage when he was insane that were stumbling blocks to us.  We danced around each other for a decade before trying anything and there was so much history that got in the way, it was doomed to failure, we gave it several goes though, much to Scott’s disgust, he never got over the being turned into a werewolf without his consent thing.

 

Snuffling at me Peter seems content to just lay here with me.

 

This can’t last for too long, he’ll start hunting down the Argent family soon, but it does mean my plan it totally working and I allow myself a moment to be smug, with Peter bonding with me, the nurse out of the way, and Laura’s body primed for discovery I’m confident that everything is going to work out, after all what could possibly go wrong?  I’ve got this whole thing planned, I’ve spent years working on the details, I should stop worrying and just enjoy my new chance at life.

 

I’ve removed all the bad crap and I’m going to enjoy spending time with dad again, none of this lying to him thing, we’re good.  Scott and I will stay bros and we’ll just add Allison in, a sweet lovely version of Allison that will never have to kill or worry about being killed, her parents will let her slip into a normal life and they’ll probably settle down too.  The three Betas will get a new lease of life too and won’t have to worry about wolfy shenanigans and being shot full of arrows.  Derek will never be the Alpha and can stay as a Beta.  And Peter will get his revenge and his sanity.

 

Burrowing into Peter’s arms I close my eyes too and keep scratching his ear, yeah I shouldn’t have let the Matt thing throw me earlier, or the three Betas, I really am going to save them all.

 

Peter’s all warm and he smells fantastic to my new nose, as he’s in my room and surrounded by my scent they end up mingling in the most delicious way, the point that I start to drift off.  Yeah, I think Derek lied to me all those years ago, puppy piles are a thing, a thing that I am going to ask Peter to instigate as often as possible.

 

My ears are tuned in to his heartbeat which is beating nice and steadily, it adds to the sleepy feelings and I’m up for a nap, when then suddenly it beats faster as Peter’s arm slides around me and his hand moves towards the back of my neck…

 

Half asleep I react on instinct honed over decades and spin out of his embrace to crash onto the floor.  Out of the corner of my eye I can see the claws on one of Peter’s hands are longer than the ones of the other hand.  Those longer claws were the ones heading for my neck.

 

“Dude!” I can’t help being disappointed, damn it I knew he was still crazy pants, and I foolishly thought our bond would calm him down.

 

He’s only off balance for a second or so and he pounces trying to pin me under him like he did outside the care facility, this time I’m not taking it and I fight back as carefully as I can so I don’t hurt him. I know how to fight, I’ve studied various forms of martial arts and I’ve done a few crash courses with the Hunters too, undercover of course, no need to let them know they were giving away secrets to me.  It gives me the edge and I slip away to land on top of him.

 

Trying to pin an enraged werewolf is an object lesson in futility, they are just too strong and Peter’s an Alpha to boot.  It’s not long until he overpowers me and I’m on my back with him struggling to hold me there, I’m loathe to use my magic against him in case I hurt him but if he hurts me first them all bets are off.

 

Taking a deep breath he howls loudly into my face…

 

… And my wolf rises up inside of me desperate to please our Alpha, our maker, our Peter.  To obey him unthinkingly in every way.

 

Struggling against it I lose ground quickly and start to sink under the sheer weight of instinct and the base needs of a werewolf in a Pack, Peter and I are the only members of our Pack, we have to protect the Pack at all costs, we have to be as one, I have to obey him, I have to not question him, I have to do anything he wants.

 

NO!

 

I try to fight but I’m too new at this, even a life spent the way mine has been hasn’t prepared me for this immovability of being a werewolf, Peter’s howl is stronger and more compelling than the moon was, I can’t fight it, and I can’t give in to it without destroying the one chance I have to get this right and keep us all alive.

 

The flash back to that night outside the Hale house flickers in my mind, the memory of Peter burning, of knowing he was going to die because he had to, and then Derek becoming the Alpha, the red glowing eyes…

 

… And I snap back to being me, the wolf hasn’t retreated, my jaw is wrong and my mouth is full of teeth, my claws scratch on the floor, my body is bulkier and my muscles are all rewired, but I’m in control again.  The wolf part of me has seen what happens to Peter and is seeking to protect him, even if it means disobeying him, something that is mentally causing it pain to do.

 

“Peter,” I hiss his name, “Peter, what are you doing?  I’m yours, your Beta, your Pack, why did you attack me?”  God is there anybody home in his head?

 

Growling in a threatening manner he lowers his face closer to mine and I tense, if he bites me the armour won’t protect me, it’s only designed to stop human weapons, not the teeth of an Alpha werewolf.  He howls again into my face but this time my wolf is right there and we’re one, we’re not fighting Peter at all about being his, we’re only refusing to be mindless tools for him to use, and as such his howl is just a howl, and, oh my god, “Dude did you just drool on me?  Bad dog!”

 

Peter rears up over me and snarls, “I am not a DOG!” The last is blasted at my face and ew he did it again.

 

“Then stop acting like one!” I yell back, god I get the family thing he’s drowning in, I really do way more than I did as a teen but Jesus he needs to knock off the creepy shit, “God damn it Peter you’re thirty not three, I think you’re old enough to be house trained by now.”

 

There’s more snarling and the snapping of teeth in front of my face so I buck under him and use a move to flip him off of me, only I’m not used to this new strength and I end up flipping him about three feet up and sideways so he lands in such a way on my bed that he slips straight off the other side and onto the floor with a thump.

 

“Peter! Are you okay?”  I scramble up and lean over the bed, which could be a dumb move, but he’s lying there all human shaped and glaring up at me.

 

“I’m fine Stiles, thank you for asking, how are you?  And how do you know who I am?”  The scars on his face and body have faded over time and faster than they should, his werewolf healing kicking in and doing its best.  “And how does a newly Bitten werewolf not only manage to ride out the full moon alone, but manage to resist me as his Alpha?”

 

“Er…” I can do this without giving away what I am, “Because I’m not resisting you?  Dude you’re my Alpha I get that, no issues with that at all, so no resisting is happening,” and it’s true so I hear no skip in my heartbeat at all.

 

Red eyes flash at me as he studies me and I smile at him, see I’m a good little Beta wolf.  “Hmm, interesting clothes your wearing,” he points out and his hand lifts up to touch my shoulder, “I’ve never seen anything like it before,” under his fingertips the cloth is doing its job and changing colour as it reacts to the heat and humidity of his skin.

 

The rumble of dad’s cruiser has my head jerking up, “Shit, dad!” Hopping around my room I pull off my body armour and shove it in my closet, more hopping ensues as I pull on my clothes from earlier.  Peter is now lounging nakedly on my bed like he owns it and he smirks at me as I head for the bedroom door to go greet my dad.

 

How is this my life again?

 

“Hey dad,” I’m tumbling down the stairs as he stalks in and he’s in full business mode.

 

“Stiles,” walking up to me he hugs me tightly, “Good you’re here, you’re okay, it’s okay,” and now I’m starting to freak out.

 

“Dad?”  Oh my god what the hell has gone wrong?

 

“I need to you to promise me something,” He grips my shoulders and moves me back a bit, “I need you to promise me you will stay in the house tonight, promise me Stiles, and no talking Scott into going anywhere okay?”

 

“Okay,” I lie to him easily, years of practice come in handy, I barely hear the blip of my heart, “But dad what is it?”

 

“They’ve found the second half of the body,” he says and I blink because I was expecting it to be found tomorrow morning, “A couple of kids went out ‘jogging’ and found it, the girl’s still in shock and boy is a mess,” Crap I did not mean for that to happen, “So I need you to stay home, I need to know you’re safe, okay?”

 

“Okay,” I say it quietly and nod, sort of meaning it.

 

“Okay,” he echoes and breathes out, “I’m heading over to go pick up my partner for the night, we’re all pairing up, no one goes anywhere alone,” he’s being extra serious, “With the results from the lab we thought the woman died of an animal attack, but the body’s been moved too far and it was buried…”

 

He leaves me to fill in the blanks, blanks I’m happy to fill and they’ll help lead to the conclusion I need him to come to, “Animals don’t bury their kills like that, which means the killer is human, and they tried to hid the evidence to throw the cops off the scent,” hah scent.

 

“Yeah, so you stay here, you stay out of the woods,” I get another hug from him, “You make sure your phone is charged and the house is locked up, you hear anything and you call, okay?”

 

“Okay,” I hug him back and bury my nose in his neck, god he smells almost as good as Peter does.

 

“Good, you lock up after me,” and we do through the performance of me locking the door behind him and waving him off.

 

I listen to the cruiser start up and wave as he leaves, the engine fades into the night and I sigh, he’s being sensible and taking precautions, except Peter’s already in the house upstairs waiting for me and Kate’s not in Beacon Hills yet.

 

Only the heartbeat thudding upstairs lets me know I still have a guest and I decide to drag out the time before Peter tries to question me again, instead I make a break for the kitchen and make him dinner, nothing fancy, just diced chicken in some spices and fried the way I know he likes it and rounded off with broccoli carrots and peas, all his favourite veg, he’s been stuck in the damn care facility he should have something nice to eat.

 

Plus he’ll be so busy eating he won’t be able to interrogate me and then he’ll have to make his way back to the care home or risk being discovered missing.


	10. Chapter 10

Dishing up dinner onto two plates, I grab cutlery and some sodas, before walking back up the stairs with the tray to grace Peter with my presence, and food.

 

He’s where I left him, all stretched out on my bed, like this is a normal thing and it reminds me so much of the times we had together than I can’t help smiling at him.  We’d take it in turns sneaking off to go and make breakfast in bed, breakfast that often turned into sex, because it was totally not my fault if the syrup drizzled a little over him and you can’t waste it and…

 

Dragging my thoughts back to the here and now I ignore the growing problem in my pants, I forgot what being in puberty was like, damn it anything can get you going.  Sitting on the bed I silently hand Peter his soda, a plate of food and the cutlery.

 

Watching out of the corner of my eye I can see him sniff the food suspiciously and then take a very tentative bite of the chicken, I see the surprise flash over his face and then he’s staring at me, “This is... delicious,” he’d paused over the last word and I wonder what he was thinking of saying.

 

“Thanks,” I take it at face value and grin at him as I preen at his praise, he should like it, he’s the one that taught me to cook it in the first place.

 

We eat in silence and he’s savouring the chicken, he even licks his fork to get all the taste off of it, I finish off my dinner and put my plate on my computer table, then I sit on the chair there and wait for him.  He takes his time, just like I hoped he would, and then he’ll have to leave.

 

“Stiles, that really was amazing,” he sighs softly and wiggles to get more comfy on my bed, I keep my mouth shut, a hard learned skill but right now a god send.

 

“You’re welcome dude,” I can’t help letting my eyes wander over his body, god it’s been years since we’ve been together, and for the last twenty years of my life I’ve been celibate, the flesh and the spirit were willing but I was too picky to choose someone and frankly I was busy anyway.

 

“Do the scars bother you?” He asks me and I flick my gaze up to see that something lurking in his eyes letting me know he’s being sneaky.

 

“Nope,” and it’s the truth, they hurt me because I know they hurt him, but they don’t actually bother me, they show how much Peter’s survived, and they don’t detract from his physical charms at all.

 

“No?” He arches the eyebrow on his unscarred side, “They don’t upset you at all?”

 

Oh he’s trying to get a bead on me and how to manipulate me, so I got back to exploring him with my eyes and this time I don’t try to hide how him being naked makes me feel, I let my body react, I remember the touch of his hands on me, of my hands on him, and then I boldly tell, “Sorry I’m a bit too busy objectifying you right now,” the leer I put at the end may be a bit much but I do love winding him up.

 

It’s fun to see him so off balance and unsure of what to say or do, Peter normally has so many plans and back up plans that it’s hilarious to screw with them, it won’t take him long to bounce back so…

 

“Hey it’s not my fault if a very hot looking naked man is on my bed looking like he stepped out of one of my dreams now is it?”  And that earns me a long blink as he tries to formulate a comeback.

 

“So oh amazing Alpha of mine,” I lean back on my chair, “How have you been? And I’d like to start a petition to instigate pack puppy piles because you smell heavenly and you cuddle better than anyone, ever, so that should totally be a thing, as long as you promise to stop trying to do body harm to me, because this…” I wave my hands up and down me, “Should not be ripped apart, man that was not cool.”

 

“Puppy piles,” Peter’s face gets that look of ‘oh my god why me’, “Werewolves don’t do puppy piles.”

 

“Oh,” I’m really disappointed that he’s unintentionally backed Derek up, “’Coz that snuggle thing we had going on was epic levels of awesome, and all the fiction on werewolves talks about bonding and puppy piles…”

 

“Fiction,” if anything he looks even more upset now, “You got all your information from fiction?”

 

“Where was I supposed to get it from?” I ask and dodge his question, “Dude this big scary wolf thing attacks me, bites me, the bite heals up, I can suddenly hear, smell, and see things I couldn’t before.  I’m faster, stronger, and I suddenly need to eat twice as much.  It all points to being a werewolf, and there are so many books on the subject, there has to be a grain of truth in there somewhere,” I pause and try out my judgemental face on him, “And it’s not like you were stepping up to help me, other than the save outside your care facility, thanks by the way, I was drowning there man.”

 

“You’re welcome,” he replies and then blinks again, “How did you know where I was? And who I was?  And why is your scent up a tree outside my nurse’s house?”

 

He’s fishing, I think, but it blows that he knows I was outside the nurse’s house, so I’ll dodge again, “I have a  new awesome nose, I can track scents now,” I let him assume I tracked him, and I add, “Your scent was at the nurse’s, so logically following her would lead me to you,” except it didn’t because I didn’t know how to use it at that point, plus I already knew where Peter was, but phrasing and context changes sentences so I’m not actually lying to him, I’m telling him how I could have done it.

 

My awesome sneaky ninja conversation powers must be working because my heart doesn’t blip at all, and he nods thoughtfully.

 

“And you know my name,” he points out so I nod, “You know I’m Peter Hale, but do you know what happened to me?”  His fingers trail over his scars as if emphasising his point.

 

“Oh you mean the thinly disguised murder of your entire family?” I ask as innocently as I can and his heart skips in his chest and beats a little faster now, “Yeah that didn’t take long to figure out,” not even the first time, I was a bit caught up with Scott and the whole werewolf thing, but I totally solved it when I put my mind to it.

 

Sitting up and acting casually Peter gives me a harmless smile, the one the he uses to pretend he’s not plotting the downfall of someone, “Well Stiles, I can see I was lucky when I Bit you in the woods that night, I am sorry for that,” his heart blips over that lie, “But I was acting on pure instinct, I’d only just become Alpha after my niece was killed, the power was overwhelming,” and he’s told the truth so no heart blips, but I notice he doesn’t tell me he’s the one that killed Laura.

 

“Dude, I’m sorry about your niece, was she the body, or half the body found in the woods?” It took years for him to face up to the fact that he murdered his niece he did his best to run away from that realisation, because of all the people he killed when he was insane she was the only true innocent, of course he tried to kill Derek a few times too, or set him up to get caught or killed.  I have to remember that this isn’t my Peter, this is a Peter who will use and then discard me if I piss him off or he thinks I’m too much trouble to bring over to the dark side.

 

“Yes, yes she was Stiles, she’s also the body you’ve been contact with if her scent on your clothes is anything to go by,” everything about him is calm and relaxed, except his heart which is beating too fast, and there’s a faint red gleam in his eyes.

 

“Well that makes more sense then,” I nod, “I wondered why I followed the scent to the old Hale house and why it smells like a man there, was he the one that killed Laura?  ‘Coz he buried the evidence there…” I pause and screw my own face up, “Oh man, I should have left her there and then told my dad I found the body and got the bastard arrested for her murder,” I let my shoulders slump, “Sorry Peter, did I screw up?  I wanted her to be found so that dad could find out who killed her…” I freeze for a second and widen my eyes, then I go over the top with arm waving as I blurt, “Holy mother of god, is that who burnt the house down?  Has he come back? Shit Peter we have to hide you, he could kill you too!”

 

Jumping to my feet I hurry over to him and kind of hover like I don’t know what to do, I may even wring my hands a bit to add dramatic flair.

 

“Relax Stiles,” He waves my concerns away, “If the man you saw was young, with dark hair, a permanent scowl and a fixation with leather then it was probably just my nephew Derek.”

 

“Derek,” I sit next to Peter on the bed, “Is he a threat to us? I mean does he know what you are?  Will he try and hurt you too?”

 

“Derek is a werewolf too,” he tells me and I relax my shoulders, “He won’t be happy that I Bit you without your consent and he has ‘issues’ from our family being murdered, so you’d be best to avoid him, but he’s harmless.”

 

“Okay,” I nod a few times, “Okay, so just avoid Derek, yeah I can probably do that, except my dad’s the Sheriff, what if he questions Derek about Laura? Does that count as not avoiding him?” I lean into Peter’s space and he tenses a bit.

 

“That will be fine Stiles, really, just stay quiet and stay unnoticed, I have to go back to the facility, they’ll miss me otherwise, but I’ll come back soon and we can talk some more okay?”  And he’s playing right into my hands.

 

“Okay Peter,” I impulsively hug him, “Be careful out there man, do you need my cell phone number or something, in case you need to get a hold of me?”

 

“That’s fine Stiles, next time,” he hugs me back and then I escort him to my window, he crouches down and then transforms into his monstrous Alpha form, “I’ll see you soon,” he growls and he’s gone bounding off into the night.

 

Because I do know Peter I clean up from his visit, I hide the sheets again and it isn’t until I’m standing in the shower and rubbing smelly shower gel everywhere that I let my smugness out.  I’ve managed to convince Peter I’m a teenager who’s smart and an asset, now I need to get several steps ahead of him so I can get all the arsonists arrested and Kate put away for life.

 

Happy with how our unexpected ‘chat’ turned out I deliberately let my hand trail down my chest, I’m already hard and just thinking about Peter makes me groan, the memories of him trickle out, I shudder at how his mouth on my neck would feel like, how his hands on my hips left bruises, the slide of his tongue on my nipples as he worked his way down.

 

Bracing my left arm on the tiles I rest my head on it and then use the shower gel as a type of lube as I happily jerk myself off, god that is good, and I can see Peter in my head, the way he’d kneel down there and take my in his mouth, the way he’d suck me, and fuck I’m not going to last.  I moan out his name as I come and I let myself stand there and enjoy the afterglow, damn I’m a teenager again, I can get away with doing that everyday again, maybe even twice or three times a day.

 

Smiling I lock the house up and go to bed, snuggling down into my bed I’m drifting off to sleep when I think I hear one of our bushes in the garden rustle, straining my ears there could be the fading thud of a heartbeat moving further away, like a total creeper Alpha werewolf finally leaving and going back to the facility.

 

Snorting I pull the covers over my head, he doesn’t change.


	11. Chapter 11

School is a disaster for the teachers, with the discovery of the second half of Laura’s body, and the new information that she was murdered and the whole thing was staged to look like an animal attack, the school pretty much gives up on maintaining any lessons and frankly the teachers are as bad, if not worse, at this gossiping thing.

 

A curfew has been set for everyone in the town, other than people that have to work the night shift, and of course all the kids are now going to break the curfew for kicks, just because they can.

 

Rolling my eyes at the idiocy going on around me I tune back into the cute-fest of Scott and Allison as they do dumb love bird stuff.  If I wasn’t a werewolf I’d be worried about tooth decay from sitting too close to them.

 

Surprisingly they are sticking to the curfew, mostly because I’ve pointed out they can still be close and skype each other, without putting their loved one at risk, and I may have used the argument that they don’t want each other wandering around in the dark if there’s a serial killer on the loose.  They bought it and will be safe enough for a while.

 

During a free period I may sneak off and hack the school computer systems which are so archaic and old they might as well be from the stone age, the search engine algorithms are so basic I want to bang my head on the table, Jesus how did I get anything done back then. Urgh it’s a miracle we survived at all.

 

In the end I do get my hands on Garrison Myer’s address, he works at the school as a driver so it’s not that hard to get, though the video store clerk and the two thugs are a bit harder.  I also swipe Mr’s Harris’ while I’m here too.

 

Hopefully Peter is off refining his plans, I got a text from dad saying they’ve arrested the nurse, so Jennifer is now in for questioning, Derek’s in to identify his sister’s body, and he will hopefully keep his mouth shut about burying his sister’s body and not get himself arrested this time around.

 

All in all, things are going great.

 

Tonight I’ll start hunting down and terrorising the people involved, Kate will have heard about the goings on and the moment the name Hale pops up she’ll come running to ‘help’ her brother clear things up.

 

Smiling to myself I sneak back to where I’m supposed to be to find a group of kids in a circle being nasty little sons of bitches to some poor soul, they’re jeering and laughing at their victim, and I think one of the little fuckers is videoing the whole thing.  God kids are horrible creatures sometimes and I breathe in sharply to find out who they’re bullying…

 

… And I know that scent, just in passing, but I know it. 

 

It’s Erika.

 

For a few seconds my vision bleeds red and all I want to do is rip those shits a new one with my claws, I want to rend them apart and paint the walls with their innards.  Clutching a desk for dear life I try to shove my anger down, slaughtering them won’t help any of us in the long run, no matter how good it would make me feel.

 

The desk cracks in my hands and there are large holes where my claws punched through the wood.  Concentrating on those I force my breathing to slow and when I’m fairly sure I’m under control I stride towards the group of jackals.

 

“Hey!” I elbow my way in and I don’t hold back on the strength, I don’t care if I hurt them right now.  “What the hell are you doing?”  On the floor poor Erika is having another epilepsy fit, “Jesus, someone get a teacher and call for an ambulance…”

 

“Do it yourself,” one of the kids says, he’s holding his phone so he can catch Erika’s fit on it and probably post it on You Tube later.

 

“Fine,” I huff and flee the room using my new agility to dodge the desks, then I sprint straight to the Principal’s office and fake panting from running, “Ambulance, you need to call an ambulance, Erika Reyes is having a fit, the kids,” I sob slightly, “God they’re just videoing her and trying to make it worse with flashing lights and…”

 

The secretary is already on the phone and the Principal himself is suddenly there, I lead him straight to the classroom while someone fetches the nurse.  With a figure of authority behind me the kids scatter, slowly, and it’s slowly enough the man can identify each and every one of Erika’s tormentors, he probably won’t be able to stop them, or be able to punish them very much but it’s something.

 

Erika’s sobbing on the floor and I don’t think about it as I kneel on the floor in front of her, the worst of her fit is over, but I can smell she’s peed herself, and the kids will never let her forget that, “Erika,” I grab her hand, “Breathe Erika,” frantically I check her out, but I’ve never had to deal with epilepsy before, bullet wounds and blood, sure, lots of times, but this is something new and I don’t want to fuck it up.

 

It’s also making me remember the library and when she was caught by one of Jackson’s claws, she had a fit similar to epilepsy then, Derek was forced to break her arm to kick start her healing, only she’s not a werewolf now.

 

Her hand tightens on mine and I kneel there uselessly murmuring her name and telling her that she’s safe, which is a blatant lie, the kids that harass her are still here, in a few days she’ll have to face them again.

 

The nurse comes running into the room, the ambulance has been called and will be here soon.  She checks Erika over and doesn’t make me leave, she lets me stay and hold Erika’s hand.  And then the ambulance is here and I’m not allowed to follow, though Erika turns her head enough I can see her staring at me as they wheel her out, and then she’s gone.  Great now I’ll have to make time to go see her in hospital and make sure she’s okay.

 

Damn it.

 

I feel like a failure, I’m handling Peter and the whole murderous werewolf vs arsonist Hunters better than this. 

 

Shit.

 

Scrubbing my hand over my face I ignore the kids whispering around me until the sound of nails on wood gets my attention.  Lydia Martin is standing next to the ruined desk and running her fingers over it, it’s obvious she can see the damage I did to it and she’s frowning, that’s not good, that’s not good at all.

 

When she turns away to talk to Jackson, “Jackson, look at this,” I have to improvise and throw a spell to repair the damage, her immunity screws it up but I fix enough of the desk so that there’s only a slight crack along it and no claw marks at all, “The desk Jackson.”

 

“Babe?” Jackson is being his normal dick self and he dismisses her, “It’s a desk Lydia, and it’s cracked, this place should invest in some new ones.”

 

“What?” Is said under her breath and she looks around the room to catch me staring at her, I wave and give her a big goofy grin, she stiffens and snuggles into Jackson as she dismisses me.

 

Well that was too close.

 

Giving up on school I go home with Erika’s stuff and snag my armour, putting it on underneath my clothes I go to the hospital, I’ll visit Erika and make sure she’s okay before I go and scare the crap about of Myer.

 

Erika’s parents are standing outside of the room I was told Erika was in and they just look so broken and depressed, they were ecstatic about her miracle cure the first time around, they started planning things they could do as a family but never could because of her epilepsy, they wanted her to experience the world.  And then she died and they only had parts of their little girl to bury.  The funeral was depressing as hell and I’ve never forgotten it.

 

“Hey Mr and Mrs Reyes, is Erika up for visitors?” I do my best polite teen impression, it rarely fools anyone.  I hold up her bag, “I brought her things from school for her.”

 

“And you are?” Mr Reyes is glaring at me like this is all my fault.

 

“Stiles, Stiles Stilinski,” and at the mention of my surname Mr Reyes relaxes.

 

“I’ll ask if she’ll see you,” he gives his wife another hug and vanishes into Erika’s room, she’s surprised when she hears I’m here but tells him to let me in.  “Okay, but five minutes and no upsetting her,” he warns me and I slip into her room after promising to be good.

 

“Hey Erika,” I saunter up to her bed, she’s a mess, she looks exhausted, her hair is bedraggled and even birds wouldn’t nest in it, but she’s alive and that’s good enough for me.  “I brought your things for you.”

 

“Thank you,” her voice is meek and she won’t quite look at me.

 

Screw it, I drag a chair over and plonk myself down by her bedside, glancing around I find a conversation point, “So TV’s bust then, or aren’t you allowed to watch this close to recovering from an attack, ‘coz I know when Scott has an asthma attack we have to do special stuff for him ‘til his body can bounce back.  Though for him it’s more sit quietly and keep breathing so TV’s kind a good choice for that, hey you could totally read a book, but maybe that strains your eyes, sorry I don’t know anything about how epilepsy works, so maybe you could get talking books, you know listen to a book.  It’ll give you something to do while you recover and you won’t get so bored, because laying in a bed for hours without anything to do?  Urgh hell…”

 

I babble on and fill the silence because I’ve always been good at that and when Mr Reyes tells me it’s time for the doctors to come around again I bounce to my feet and reach out to squeeze Erika’s hand, “I hope you feel better soon Erika, take care, okay?”

 

She nods and has that ‘I’ve been Stilesed’ look, her eyes are glazed and she’s still trying to keep up with the conversation, “Okay see you round Erika,” I breeze out of her room and wave when I get to the door.  I thank her parents for letting me visit and start on my journey to go get Myer to give himself up when a hand comes out of nowhere and suddenly my ear is grabbed.

 

“Stiles,” its Scott’s mom, “What are you up to now?” Wow she always did assume the worst about me.

 

“I’m here visiting Erika Reyes and bringing her stuff to her, she left it behind in the school after her fit, ow, ear, ow,” I wiggle but she’s not letting go.

 

“I hope you weren’t making fun of her…” She threatens me.

 

“NO! God no, it’d be like making fun of Scott for having asthma, seriously my ear…” And she lets me go with an apologetic look.

 

“Sorry, I know you and Scott are always getting in trouble,” I’m offended by that accusation, we don’t get into trouble, trouble finds us, occasionally we help it along, “But you’ve never made fun of him for having asthma, and I know you’ve shelved some of your more crazy plans because he can’t always keep up, or he’s having a bad day. I should know better than to think you’d pick on Erika like that.”

 

As apologies go it’s not bad, “Yeah, people shouldn’t be picked on because of things they can’t control, except idiot bullies for some reason can’t see them for the awesome person they are.”

 

“No they can’t,” she smiles at me and pats my shoulder, “Now don’t forget about the curfew, I’ll walk you to your car, and you go straight home, okay?”

 

“Okay,” I smile and nod and inwardly seethe.  I even wave to her as I drive off and curse under my breath, now I’ll have to run all the way from my house to get to Myer’s house.

 

Damn it.

 

At least Erika’s alright though.  Now all I have to do is come up with a plan to get back at her bullies.


	12. Chapter 12

Going through the motions of locking up the house and pretending to go to bed I lie on my bed and stare at the ceiling.  I give it an hour before I slip out of the window and lock it behind me.

 

Running through the night I practice jumping and I may show off with a few forward flips and over the top landings.  Now I get why the others would do that, it’s fun and it does make you feel cool.  Plus with my armour on and hood up I am kind of like a superhero.

 

Coming at Myer’s place from the back I slip into the shadows and listen, there’s only one heartbeat in his little run down house.  Checking out the place I can’t even spot security lights or a system.  None of the windows are open but that’s not an issue for me.

 

Making sure no one else is around I walk up to his back door and flick open the locks with a word, then I slip inside and stealthily stalk through his house and up to his bedroom.  Along the way I notice that there’s almost nothing of value here.  He used to have a good job and then after he fudged the paperwork for the Hale fire he steadily lost everything until he now drives a school bus and lives a lonely miserable existence.

 

Opening his bedroom door I spot a chair and make myself comfortable, I concentrate on my eyes to make them glow and bit by bit I let the shift happen, but controlled so I won’t attack him or try to bite him.

 

“Mr Myer,” I say it loudly and let a growl bleed into my voice, the man on the bed jumps and then looks around blearily, he gasps when he sees me, or more accurately my eyes glowing amber in the darkness of his room.  “Mr Myer we need to talk about past events that are going to come back and hit you very soon…”

 

“Who… Who are you?” He scrambles to sit up on his bed and his arms rise defensively.

 

“I’m someone who wants to help you Mr Myer.  The truth is going to come out soon, I’d prefer you survived it,” I tell him as honestly as I can.  “There is a player out there who would prefer you didn’t survive at all,” well technically there are two players, Peter to get revenge and Kate to stop the truth from getting out.

 

“W…What? I don’t understand?” Myer’s heart is beating hard and fast in his chest, and he smells of fear.

 

“Once upon a time there was a family, and they lived happily ever after in the woods of Beacon Hills,” I’ve always liked the soft approach, leading them up to it gently, if they stubbornly refuse after that, well I can always hit them with it.  “One day a bad person came and burnt their house down…” With my new night vision I can see the blood drain from his face.

 

“It was an accident,” he whispers but his heart blips at the lie and I sit quietly, this is a trick I learnt from my dad, it took me years to learn how not to fidget, and I watch as Myer almost implodes on himself, I don’t have to do anything, I think he’s been waiting for this.  “She said no one would find out, she said all I had to do was make sure the kids never got a cent of the money, she said I’d be richly rewarded,” his voice is filling with self-loathing.  “I thought it was just an accident at first, but then, then I got to thinking, and… It wasn’t an accident was it,” he doesn’t ask it as a question, he says it as a statement.

 

“No it wasn’t an accident,” I agree with him.

 

Slumping he shivers on the bed, “I thought it was a way to make an easy buck, and it was easy, so very easy to change a few bits of paper.  I knew it was wrong, I knew something was off, that’s why I kept the originals,” his head jerks up and my heart stutters, oh my god, please tell me he’s still got the original paperwork.  “I kept it all, I hid it all…”

 

Clamping down on my excitement I ask as calmly as I can, “And do you still have that paperwork?”

 

“Yes sir, I made extra copies too,” he looks at me, “What are you going to do to me now?”  And he’s resigned, like he’s been waiting for this.

 

“Nothing, except urge you to go to the police, tonight, take your evidence and turn yourself in, they can protect you from what’s coming,” I stand up and walk towards him, holding out my hand I want to say ‘come with me if you want to live’ but that’s just too corny, “You have some work to do to put things right Mr Myer, let’s get started.”

 

It takes half an hour to get all his evidence and get him dressed and I walk him to his car, he pauses as he gets in, “I… God this sounds stupid but…” his eyes dart about, “Be careful, the woman who talked me into this, she’s beautiful, and I mean model perfect, but there was always something in her eyes, something dangerous…”

 

Leaning in close to him I smile, “Thank you Mr Myer, and for the record I can be dangerous too, I’ll shadow you to the police station, make sure you get there safely,” because this is too easy, I don’t want him just driving out of town and vanishing on me.

 

“Thank you,” he nods and closes the door.  I hear the click of his seatbelt, and the car rumbles to life, then it’s just a matter of running and keeping up with him.  He parks right outside the station and I listen to him mutter, “Come on Garrison, you can do this, you knew this was coming, you knew it, come on you coward, for once in your life be a man.”

 

Climbing out of his car he straightens his shoulders and heads inside, I stick around long enough to hear him confess to the first cop he can find that he cheated on the forms to commit fraud and then I hear him tell them the Hale fire wasn’t an accident it was arson.

 

Stunned I stand there a bit longer and then melt into the night.  I have a feeling the others aren’t going to go so easily, that he was a surprisingly good first person to go for.

 

Next on my list is the video store clerk and I jump up to wait for him on the roof of the store.

 

I was right, he’s tougher to break, I have to grab him and stand on the edge of the roof and dangle him off of it, upside down, by an ankle, before he cracks.  I shake him a few more times to make sure he’ll go to the cops.  Then I follow him and deliberately step out of the shadows so he goes inside, he’s sobbing by the time someone sees him and he admits to his part in the Hale arson.

 

The two thugs are hanging out near the forest and I shake my head, Peter could so easily sneak up and eviscerate them.  This time I have to chase them through the trees and do some magic, my eyes glow the whole time and I have to show them my claws.  Also I may break Reddick’s arm and bruise Unger’s ribs before they finally agree to give themselves up.

 

Again I stand where they can see me as they enter the police station and then I have only one more person to go and see.

 

Adrian Harris.

 

Flitting off I run through the darkness and make my way to my chemistry teacher’s house.  Finally some payback for all the crappy lessons and digs he got in during high school, it took me years to face up to them and him and realise the problems were always his.

 

He does have security lights and I stand working out the angles before I use my new jumping ability to land lightly on his roof and work my way to a window.  It’s child’s play to swing in after I open the window with magic.  Mr Harris’ house is nicely furnished and I can’t help myself as I poke around a bit, he’s disappointingly normal, apart from the complete lack of alcohol in the house, there’s not a drop of it that I can smell anywhere.

 

Shrugging I track his heartbeat downstairs to the couch.  He’s asleep on a ratty old couch that just doesn’t go with the rest of the house and he’s curled up under a crappy blanket that can’t be keeping him warm, he’s fully clothed and the couch stinks of him, like he’s done this many times before.  On the coffee table are all the test sheets he’s marking, he’s most of the way through them.

 

Sitting on a nearby chair I cough to get his attention, “Mr Harris,” he doesn’t even jump as he wakes up he just looks around until his eyes catch on me.

 

“You’re not real,” Is all he says, he reaches for his glasses, “I know you’re not real, and I know I’ve not been drinking.”

 

“Oh I’m real,” I watch him sit up and he has a coin in one of his hands, “I’m here to tell you that your past is catching you up Mr Harris…”

 

“You’re here to kill me aren’t you, because of the Hale fire, because Laura Hale came to see me,” he’s so matter of fact.  “You’re the wrong size and gender to be the woman I spoke to at the bar, are you another of her minions?”

 

“No,” I get comfy on the chair, “I’m someone who wants her to get her caught, to build evidence against her.  You have a piece of the puzzle the police don’t even know they’re looking for, but they will soon, and I need you alive to give that piece to them.”

 

He nods, “And if I don’t?”

 

God he is such a pretentious dick, no wonder he and Jackson got on so well until Jackson ‘died’ and left Beacon Hills.  “Then I leave Mr Harris, and you get to live until your past catches you and kills you in a truly bloody and horrific way, I can’t protect you from it, I can only get you to the police if you’re willing to go,” it’s a lie, I’ll drag him down there by his intestines if I have to.

 

“I see,” he stands up and stares down at the coin in his hand, “I don’t have a lot of information, she came up to me, she bought the drinks and I don’t even know her name…”

 

“But you can describe her, you can link her to having the list of chemicals to make stone burn, a list the fire department can test the old Hale house for, you’re a link in the chain Mr Harris, and every link will count to trap her and lock her up,” I point out.

 

Gripping the coin he slides it into his pocket, “Alright, let’s go.”

 

It’s strange anti climatic as he gets out of his car and walks into the police station, I thought I’d feel more, I thought I’d want to do a victory dance, instead I’m standing in the dark and waiting for the other shoe to fall, because I have a feeling that tells me this isn’t over yet, not by a long shot.


	13. Chapter 13

A serious downside to having fixed the Hale fire arson problem is that I forgot that dad would have to head up the whole investigation, so he’s never at home and I’ve been making meal runs to him to make sure he eats and I nag him to get some sleep while I’m there.

 

The upside to visiting dad so much is that I learn that none of the witnesses know who the woman is but they all describe her to a sketch artist and the main big detail is the medallion, the same one that must have made the imprint where Laura’s body was found.  Oh and the Hale house tests positive for the chemicals that Mr Harris told Kate about.

 

Jennifer the crazy nurse is on her way to jail to await her day in court and is under arrest for a long list of charges which means she’ll probably never see the light of day again, can’t say I feel sorry for her.

 

Sprawled at the canteen table in school I tune out Scott and Allison, thankfully it’s nearly the weekend and I’m looking forward to not having to go to school and be surrounded by teenagers, they are such little drama queens and so wrapped up in themselves it takes way too much effort not to smack them up the back of the head.

 

“…is coming to visit and I’ve not seen her for ages,” Allison is excited over something, must be an old friend from another school.

 

“Wow, so she’s your dad’s little sister,” Scott of course is paying attention and then I realise what they’re talking about and nearly choke to death on curly fries.

 

Holy shit, Kate Argent is coming to town.

 

She’s early.

 

Tuning back into the conversation, and taking Allison’s lecture on eating properly, I learn that her aunt is coming tonight, as in this very night, as in I’m not ready at all, because Peter should be ambushing her and I’ve not heard anything from him since the last time we met in my room.

 

Shit, I’m going to have to go out tonight and make sure that murdering bitch makes it to the Argent’s safely, I need her to give the necklace to Allison so I can ‘accidentally’ link the necklace to Kate, which will lead dad to Kate and then she’ll be arrested.

 

Sighing I finish my lunch and slouch off to class, this being a teenager sucks, I have to go to school but I already know all of this stuff, and I’m way ahead of everything here, I should be free to go off and do my own thing.

 

I wait impatiently for school to end and then I go straight home, Scott has work and a curfew, Allison is excited over her aunt and will be skypeing Scott.  All I have to worry about is a murderous Alpha on the prowl.

 

And Derek.

 

Because last time around the idiot got himself shot by Kate, because he was chasing Peter, trying to find out who the new Alpha was.

 

Getting my armour ready I make sure I fill my extra pockets with some other stuff, like tweezers to dig bullets out of bodies, and bandages for Derek if he gets hit.   With time to kill before tonight really gets here I eat and then meditate, I want to be fully focused and ready for anything.

 

It’s dark when I pull my armour on and flip the face mask and hood up, I sneak out of the window and run through the night.  I know from Derek where Kate originally came into Beacon Hills and was attacked by Peter, but I don’t know if I’ve changed anything.

 

Listening as hard as I can I run towards the general area and mentally prepare to try and save as many people as I can, the weapons in this time are fairly crude and this could be a ‘live action’ test for my armour, god I really hope I’ve made it right.

 

Dropping to all fours I speed through the dark and decide to jump up onto some warehouse rooftops, I’ll have a better view from up here, I can also run at full pelt across them and then leap the divides between them like they’re nothing, that is kinda cool.

 

Slowing I sit on a likely warehouse and settle in to wait, in the future Allison told me that her dad tried to leave at two in the morning so I have a rough time frame.  It’s strange sitting up here, my nose and my ears are twitching and I use them to try and catch any hint of Peter out there.

 

Absolutely nothing.

 

And then I hear the sound of gunfire, a shotgun, it’s started.

 

Leaping to my feet I hurry towards where the shots were coming from and I just hope I make it there in time.

 

Getting closer the wind shifts and I get a nose full of Peter, he’s here and he tried to attack Kate, the idiot, there’s the faintest hint of blood too where he got shot.  An unfamiliar werewolf smell is mixed in, that must be Derek.

 

Going faster I scan the area in front of me and get to see Peter climb up over a roof top, he snarls down at someone and then he jumps and vanishes off into the night.  That doesn’t hold my attention, what does is seeing Derek appear and run after Peter.  He makes it to the edge of a roof and leaps…

 

… The shot is loud to my ears and I watch horrified as Derek falls down between the buildings.

 

Judging the trajectory of the bullet I make a wild guess where Kate is currently hiding and my eyes pick her out easily.  She’ll have used the special bullets, and if I can’t get my hands on one soon Derek will die.  I can’t use Scott to get them this time and breaking into the Argent’s fortress is a bad idea.  She’s also between me and her car where the bullets are.

 

Mentally mapping out how to dodge her and get to the bullets I hear another car pulling up, shit it’s Chris.  He is not happy to see his sister and he chews her out over killing any of the werewolves until they can use them to lead them to the new Alpha, she snarks back about not being able to help if she’s dead, she also says that whichever werewolf she hit has less than forty eight hours to live.

 

At the edge of my hearing Derek is grunting in pain and panting heavily as his body is hit by the special wolfsbane.

 

Shit.

 

I can’t wait.

 

Giving up my place, crouched in a shadow, I dash straight up and over the two hunters, I’ve had hunter training so I know how they’re going to shoot, how they’re going to guess my moves so they can hit me, I’m faster than they are so they have to use brains over brawn.  Instead I dodge the bullets sent my way and high tail it to Kate’s car.  Peter’s scent is all over it as are some very impressive claw marks and a bit of blood where she caught him.

 

I go straight for the bullets stored in the back and snag the box I need, then I make sure to turn and hold one arm as if I was the one that got hit, I let my eyes glow under my hood, they’ll see the amber clearly in the dark and will know I’m a Beta not the Alpha.

 

Both of them have guns out and are a heartbeat from firing.

 

I’m gone before they can breathe out and shoot me.

 

Circling around at a distance I sniff out Derek, who’s crawling away, and I come at him from downwind, he hears me and turns to snarl at me, his eyes glowing that weird electric blue, they always did look good on him, I  kind of missed them when he was the Alpha.

 

“Hey,” I hold my hands up and out, “I’m here to help, you got hit, it wasn’t a normal bullet,” I rattle the box of bullets at him, “We need to get that one out and cleanse the wound, or you’re going to die.”

 

He stares at me and the blue fades, god he looks so damn young, almost broken.  I’m so used to Derek being kinda broody that I often forget all the shit that happened to him, and right now he’ll have had to identify Laura’s body and he’s just been shot by the woman who seduced him and then killed his family.

 

“Please,” I can beg if I have to, “Please let me help you.”

 

Wordlessly he holds out his left arm and the bullet is glowing inside the wound.  In a matter of minutes I have the bullet out and another one opened so I can flash burn the wolfsbane and shove it in the wound.

 

Derek writhes on the ground as I hold my hand over the wound, he’s shaking but other than a few grunts he doesn’t say anything.  When his body relaxes I gently help him to his feet.

 

“Thank you for letting me help you,” I take the first step in our new relationship, he doesn’t remember me, well he might remember me when I was a kid, but we’ve never met since, “Be careful dude, she has everything to lose now, she won’t hold back to make sure everyone that can connect her to the arson is dead.”

 

“Who are you?” He demands playing on his bad boy image and sways on his feet, that last part somewhat ruins the threatening aura he’s trying to project.

 

“Someone who really wants some of the truths to come out, now go home, and I don’t mean to that run down house in the middle of nowhere, find a safer place,” I tell him about the abandoned train station, “Maybe that will help in the short term and keep your head down, stay out of trouble.”

 

“You didn’t answer my question,” he’s getting angry and his eyes are glowing again.

 

“I know,” I flash him a grin full of fangs, and then I flee the scene because someone called the cops and those are sirens in the distance.

 

Jumping up to my window I crawl inside and go to take a shower, I still have the rest of Kate’s bullets, she is going to be one unhappy little camper and I really don’t give a shit.

 

Freezing half in the window I realise I can smell Peter, he’s been here, recently, and I can smell blood.

 

Following the scent to the bathroom I sniff around to discover that he’s raided our cabinets and taken some bandages, he’s also showered and I tidy away some towels, there’s the smallest drop of blood on one of them, I use magic to remove it completely.

 

Shrugging I step under the spray myself and breathe in a tiny touch of Peter, I think it’s a good thing that he came to my house when he was hurt, that shows he was following his instincts and came to his Pack trusting me not to fight him for the place of Alpha.

 

Collapsing onto the bed I stare at the corner that Derek used to lurk in, our meeting may have been really brief but it’s forcing me to re-evaluate our first few encounters all those years ago, I may have fucked up a bit by being a teenager around him, I just didn’t get it, I didn’t understand so much, Christ I was a little shit to him, of course he always gave as good as he got and I grin remembering his face and the bone saw moment.

 

All I have to do is somehow keep Peter on lockdown, keep Derek out of the way and let dad find Kate.  I toss and turn for a few hours and drift off to sleep, I dream about the Vet’s and Derek and the damn bone saw, only this time I do hack the arm off and Derek dies in my arms. I dream of Derek dying over and over again in different situations, like not getting to him in time at the pool, Matt using Jackson to kill them, I wake moody and out of sorts, thank god it’s the weekend.


	14. Chapter 14

Mooching around the house far too early on a weekend I end up worrying too much and flee the house to run to the old abandoned train station that goes nowhere.  Derek must have taken me up on my idea because there’s one heartbeat inside and a general air of sadness and broodingness floating from it.  At least he’s safe, for now.

 

Thinking about one Hale makes me think of the other and I creep to the same tree Peter found me at outside the facility.  I can hear his heartbeat in his room and there’s an air of rage and frustration hanging around the place.  I slip away quietly and leave him to heal up some more.

 

By the time I’ve had breakfast and showered at home I’m bored and even more restless than before.  I know all the key pieces of information are out there to get Kate arrested, now all I have to do is wait, I hate waiting, I can do it short term but long term I just want to throw my hands up and say, “Fuck it,” as I storm in.

 

Luckily Scott texts me that he and Allison are going to the field and do I wanna teach her how to play Lacrosse.

 

I text him yes quickly and grab all my gear, I really do like Lacrosse but it’s better if I don’t’ play on the team until all this madness is dealt with, and frankly I’d never make it on the field normally so I’ll stick with running, I can hide my wolfyness easier.

 

Turning up I drag my normal gear and extra stuff, for Allison, over to the benches, the love birds are right behind me and we spend an awesome morning just messing around.  Allison may learn a few of the basic Lacrosse rules and some passing hints, I’m unsurprised when her aim is so spot on, probably all that unintentional hunter training she’s had as a kid.  It impresses Scott and they get gooey eyed and cutesy.

 

Allison has thought ahead and brought a picnic with her.  It’s all normal harmless teenage stuff, we might have to huddle a bit if the sun goes in because it’s getting colder but over all I judge it to be a better day than expected.  I wish we’d been able to do more of this the first time around, I wish there had never been a Hale fire, that Kate didn’t grow up in such a toxic environment that she truly believes werewolves are evil, I wish all the bad things weren’t real, that we could all just get along.

 

As with all good things something screws up our day, Allison’s mom calls her and tells her to stay at a friend’s, there’s just one problem, except for us Allison doesn’t have any friends, but she promises her mom she’ll do that and then stares at us like we’ll come up with a plan.

 

“You can stay at mine,” Scott instantly offers and I roll my eyes at that idea.

 

“Right, Allison’s parents are trusting her to stay at a friend’s, not at her boyfriend’s, so either you leave and stay at mine, and your mom has the evening off to do bonding stuff with your girl.  Or she stays at mine, I can either stay at yours or mine because I am way more responsible in this situation than you are,” I point out and leave them to think it all over.

 

Screwing his face up Scott nods like he’s made a major decision, “Allison can stay at yours Stiles, your dad is the Sheriff, it’s the safest house with a killer on the lose.”

 

That’s actually kind of smart, but seriously annoying, because my curiosity is stirring on why Allison has to stay away for the night.  “If Allison is cool with it, it’s done deal, I’ll hide behind her and dad if anyone breaks in,” it makes them both laugh and make fun of me for hiding behind a girl, damn I forgot, I forgot that Allison isn’t a fully-fledged hunter at the moment, she doesn’t know what she’s capable of yet.

 

Phoning dad to clear it with him I ask him if a friend can stay over and he says yes, doesn’t even ask who it is, and just like that I have a girl staying over, the Stiles I used to be would have busted a gut over this, and yeah just because she’s Scott’s doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have acted like an idiot.  I lean back on the picnic blanket and listen to them be all lovey dovey and grin when they make plans to slope off for some making out because teen hormones are the worst.

 

Promising to be back at mine by six they pack up the picnic stuff and leave me, I tell them I’ll play video games and stuff and I wave as they drive off in Allison’s car.

 

Alone at last I really want to go and spy on the Argent’s but I’m standing on the Lacrosse field and I’ve missed this too.  I miss the feel of the stick.  The grass under my boots.  The ball in my net.  I do a few sweeps and throws, the imaginary goalie can’t stop any of my shots.  Getting a bit serious I dodge imaginary foes and let myself sink into the game.  It’s been too long since I’ve run around and just played, my knees weren’t up to it in the end, though my stick skills were out of this world.  I don’t even have to use wolfy powers to cheat, I’ve spent years honing my Lacrosse abilities.

 

After a particular spectacular shot at the goal I whoop and bust a victory dance, damn I still totally have it.  It gets me psyched to go again and again.  I’m really not doing anything fancy, but I’m not hiding it either and it works out a lot of crap and helps settle me down.

 

Running for the goal I slide and dance past my imaginary opponents, it took a while for me to realise that dance and martial arts could really improve sports performances but then I got into it and I have to say they combine beautifully.

 

Absorbed in what I’m doing I forget my surroundings for a few minutes until the wind twists around and a very familiar perfume catches my attention, that’s Lydia’s perfume.

 

Not breaking stride I aim for the goal and miss, I use the momentum to turn my head and she’s sitting on the benches staring at me, to be on the safe side I trip over my feet and fall down like the idiot I’m supposed to be.

 

And then I high tail it out of there, though I stop briefly to give her a goofy smile and wave like I’m happy to see her, even though I’m not.  Driving out of the school I hear the revving of a certain Porsche so I escaped just in time.

 

With nothing else to do I go to rent a movie to keep Allison occupied and I may eavesdrop on as many conversations as I can, all anyone is talking about is the Hale fire and the news it might have been arson.  So far so good, it’s at the forefront of everyone’s minds and the cops are looking at lots of new evidence, it’s now an active case.

 

Grabbing the Notebook I resign myself to losing an evening with a weeping woman sitting next to me and snag some chocolate covered raisins, if I have to endure this then I’m gonna have snacks.  Scott seriously owes me.

 

At home I pull out some spare covers and sheets and dump them on the floor near the couch, then I strip my bed and remake it so it’s all clean for Allison.  Finding some old sweatpants and a t-shirt I leave them out for her to sleep in if she wants too.

 

Checking my watch I’m descending the stairs when I Allison’s car turns up our street.  Opening the front door I lean on the doorframe and wave.  She has no luggage but I show her around the house and we start deciding what take out to get delivered, the curfew hits soon so we’ll have to get our order in quickly.

 

Between the film, the Chinese, and texting Scott so much, I really hope she has an unlimited texting plan on her cell phone, Allison enjoys her stay and as I stretch out on the couch later it isn’t long until her heartbeat slows and her breathing deepens up in my room.

 

Tomorrow I’ll investigate the Argent’s and find out what this is all about.


	15. Chapter 15

Allison is a morning person so I have to be cheerful, it’s not that hard to do when she is still pre-Hunter Allison, she’s sweet, nice and a joy to spend time with.  It helps that Scott’s mom phones and invites herself and Scott around for breakfast, which means we get a mean plate of pancakes and fruit to eat.

 

Scott’s this giant bundle of nerves as he hovers around hoping his mom and Allison get on and they hit it off perfectly.  Yeah my plan is totally working out, Scott and Allison are going to have an awesome life together, and I am so going to be the cool uncle.

 

I’m a little worried why dad didn’t make it home last night but he did text me this morning to say he’s had a huge break in a case and that Europe has totally different time zones to us.  I’m curious as to what his case is, but then Scott wants to play Xbox and I have to try and remember the controller buttons and what they do, I end up sneaking the game manual out to refresh my memory, and then I beat the pants off of him.

 

Laughing on the couch Allison cheers both of us on while Mrs McCall is resting and I think it’s stupid that they can’t play with us.  I’ve had my ass handed to me so many times online and in real life that I know that girls can literally kick ass.  “You play,” I wave the controller to Allison, it earns me a startled look from all of them, “I bet you and Mrs McCall could take us in a video game dual.”

 

It takes five minutes of fast talk to get Mrs McCall in on the game and we switch to a racing game.  It takes the ladies maybe five goes and then they get into it, their more ruthless competitive streaks coming out and I get shoved off the track way more times than I should.

 

And they say women are the better drivers.

 

In fact Allison and Mrs McCall gang up to take us out of the races and then race each other with some of the most underhanded manoeuvres I’ve ever seen in my life.  It totally cracks me up and I laugh so hard I have to work on not howling.

 

“Mom,” Scott is scandalised as his mom deliberately causes Allison to lose.

 

Crossing the finishing line Mrs McCall grins, “Yes Scott?  Is something the matter dear?  Or are you still smarting from my winning for the second time in a row?”

 

“Scott,” I reach over to ruffle his hair, “Admit it man, you mom has mad controller skillz!”

 

“Yes, does, doesn’t she,” He agrees in a kind of stunned way.  “Wow mom that was awesome.”

 

“Thank you,” they have a touching mom and son moment and I ignore how my heart bumps painfully at it, I miss my mom so much, even after all this time I miss her every single day.

 

The shrill evil ringtone that Allison programmed into her phone interrupts us, it seems her parents are ready to come pick her up, “But my car is here, I can drive home,” She points out to them, I can hear her dad on the other end saying it’s fine her mom will drive it home, they really need to come get her right now.  She tells them my address and promises to be ready for when they get here.

 

“I hope everything’s alright Allison,” Mrs McCall puts her arms around her, “If you need somewhere to stay then you can stay at ours, Scott won’t mind staying here, that way you can have an adult in the house at night,” she gives me a sympathetic look, both her and my dad work far too hard, she’s had to leave Scott alone at night more times than she’d ever want too.

 

It doesn’t even take us two minutes to gather up Allison’s stuff, it’s not like she had anything to bring with her.  She makes some tentative plans to meet up with Scott later today once she knows what’s going on.

 

The crunch of tires on our drive lets me know someone is here, but I have to play dumb until the doorbells rings, “I’ll get it,” bolting to the door I open it to find a scowling Mr Argent standing there, he smells of wolfsbane and I manage not to sneeze on him, “Hey Mr Argent, come on in.”

 

“No, that’s fine I’m just here to pick up Allison,” his whole body language is stressed and angry, but then he normally is, I’ve rarely seen the man happy, ever.

 

“Okay, hey Allison your dad is here!” I call out and step back so that she can leave the house.

 

Things are going fine until Mr Argent learns that Allison spent the night with me, “You slept in his bed!” His words are accompanied by a throbbing vein in the man’s head.

 

“Yeah, I wasn’t going to make her sleep on the couch, she was my guest,” I stand up for Allison, “I cleaned my room,” I didn’t but he doesn’t have to know that, “I changed all the sheets for her, and with a possible killer on the loose this was the safest house,” at the mention of a killer Mr Argent looks even more pissed.

 

“Hmm, well that wasn’t the idea when we told her to stay at a friend’s…” He trails off as dad pulls up in the cruiser, “Allison come on, mom will drive your car and I’m going to take you home.”

 

“Okay,” Allison is just as puzzled as I am about this and then dad isn’t coming in, he’s leaning on the cruiser and watching the three Argents like a hawk, like their suspects in a case, that’s strange I wasn’t expecting him to suspect Kate just yet, something must have happened.

 

Scott doesn’t notice anything except Allison so nothing’s different there, and Allison is gazing back at him.  Ahh young love.

 

Dad waits until they’ve gone before moving, Mrs Argent driving Allison’s car, she glares daggers at dad the whole time she can.  I’m glad when the car is gone and I can breathe out, that woman always was a bitch.  Greeting Scott’s mom my dad smiles, “Hey Melissa, keeping the scamps out of trouble?”

 

“She was beating us,” Scott says too busy staring off after the car Allison was in, “She kept pushing us off the track and then laughing when our cars blew up.”

 

“Um, I played video games with them,” Mrs McCall says at dad’s frown.

 

“She totalled annihilated us,” I tell him proudly, “I said it before and I’ll say it again, Mrs McCall has mad controller skillz,” I mime madly mashing buttons on a controller.

 

Laughing dad shakes his head, “Congrats Melissa,” he smells tired, almost exhausted, “I need to borrow my son for today though, you’ll have to practice at home so you can beat them into submission more often, it might keep them out of trouble,” dad doesn’t sound convinced that we could be kept out of trouble.

 

“No problem,” Mrs McCall isn’t falling for dad’s little speech and the way she pats his shoulder as he leaves lets him know that too.  “Call me if you need anything, you know you and Stiles are always welcome.”

 

“I know, and thank you,” he nods to her and we wave them off.  When they’re gone dad speaks out of the corner of his mouth, “Stiles?”

 

“Yeah?” There’s a tension in his shoulders and the smell rolling off of him right now is anxiety and fear.

 

“Grab some clothes for both of us, enough for a week, I’ll need my spare uniforms, turn the GPS in your phone off, don’t you dare call Scott, leave your macbook behind, you have ten minutes, then you’re driving us out of here in your jeep,” he glances at me, “Go, now.”

 

I’m so used to having to do this for my old crazy life that it isn’t until I’m throwing clothes into a bag that I wonder what the hell has dad so freaked out.  Finished with my tasks I bound down the stairs and I get to see the dad laying down on the sidewalk, with a mirror, checking the underside of my jeep like he’s expecting something to be there.

 

I can only think of a few things that get added to the underside of cars and I breathe deeply as I approach the car, other than scents I’m expecting I don’t smell anything else and I sigh, that doesn’t stop me using a spell to scan the jeep too, and I relax as I find nothing that way either.

 

“Okay it looks clean,” dad gives me hug, “Drive me to the long term care facility near the hospital,” that’s the one that Peter’s in, “Peter Hale woke up and went missing for a few hours, they found him in the grounds,” oh shit that is not good.

 

“I… Sure dad, I can totally be your driver, but why the bags?” I dump said bags in the back and get his best blank poker face, he’s not going to tell me, “Come on dad you know it’s best if you tell me, I can help.”

 

“Just drive Stiles, just drive.”

 

So I do.


	16. Chapter 16

There are a few cruisers already outside the care facility and dad makes me park up between two of them and grab our bags. I also have to hand my keys over to a State Trooper I’ve never met before, dad pats me on my shoulder, “Don’t worry son, he’s going to take damn good care of her.”

 

“But, my jeep, dad, come on,” I’ve only just gotten her back, kind of.

 

“No Stiles, everyone knows you have the jeep, it’s too easy to find,” and that signals the end of that.

 

Damn.

 

Something really big is going on if dad is taking these levels of precautions so I turn and tell the Trooper, “Be careful she sticks in second,” He waves at me so he must have heard me.

 

Inside the facility I smell gun oil and stiffen next to dad as various men and women are wandering around, they scream agent in everything they do, the emotional scents are all over the place, anger and fear all mixing in with anxiety and different types of pain or loss, I’m not good enough to single anything out yet.

 

“Sheriff,” one of the suited guys nods at dad, “Derek Hale arrived a few minutes ago he’s with his Uncle now, he won’t talk though, he clammed up when I tried,” the man’s eyes dart to me and silently question dad over my presence.

 

“This is my son Stiles, he’ll be with me all day,” Surprisingly the agent nods like he was expecting me to be here, “Let me talk to Hale, I was there when he had to identify his sister, I think I can get him to talk.”

 

Wow dad has no idea what he’s about to attempt to do, you don’t get Derek to open up about anything, he’ll talk when he wants to and that’s that.  He only got more stubborn as he got older.

 

I’m even allowed along for the ride, which might not be a good thing, because Derek will smell me and know it was me that dug the bullet out of his arm and then saved his life.

 

“Let me do the talking,” Dad’s hand lands on the back of my neck, “Sit with and keep quiet, okay?”

 

“I, yeah, are you sure you want me in when you’re questioning someone?” And yes I nagged him for years about that but he always said no.

 

“Yes, this time you’re better off sticking with me,” and dad smells of fear again, this is so not good.

 

I remember the way to Peter’s room, after the last time, when we killed him, we had to check to see if we had to destroy evidence, but Peter had left nothing behind so that was good.  Dad nods to the two deputies standing outside Peter’s room and we’re waved through.

 

Peter is sitting up in bed and he turns his head towards us, “Hello,” he sounds calm, though that isn’t always a good sign with Peter, sometimes it’s because he’s plotting and being sneaky, and he currently smells of rage.  “I think I remember you, weren’t you a Deputy?”

 

“Yes Mr Hale,” Dad smiles softly at the man not realising what he really is, “I ran for Sherriff and got elected,” because the last Sheriff quit and moved away right after the Hale fire.

 

“Please call me Peter,” says Peter and he gives his own soft smile and unfocuses his eyes, “They said you’d be coming to talk to Derek,” and my eyes dart to the figure brooding in the shadows of one of the corners, though it’s more like Derek is hiding and his shoulders are all hunched.

 

My eyes meet Derek’s and I can see him taking in deeper breaths than he actually needs, he’s scenting us, and then his eyes widen, his right hand drifts down to touch his left arm, he’s guessed who I am.

 

“Thank you,” dad tells Peter missing the subtext going on under his nose, “Stiles, why don’t you go sit down son, we won’t be that long, I need to bring the Hales up to speed on the Arson investigation of their house,” that makes Peter jerk very slightly on the bed and the room goes quiet.

 

“Arson?” It’s Derek that speaks breaking the silence, “They said at the time it was a terrible accident.”

 

“That’s partly why I’m here Derek,” dad drags some chairs to the bed and pushes me down into one, I have the door to my back and my shoulders twitch, I hate not being able to see people creep up on me.  “Please,” he gets Derek to sit in the chair nearest Peter and then settles on the one between me and Derek twisting away from me.  It means I can see the two wolves and dad can’t see me very easily.

 

“This isn’t going to be easy, and I am so sorry,” Dad is using his gentle approach, “Before the fire a young woman would have approached a very young underage member of your family,” and Derek’s heart is speeding up, from where I’m sitting I can see his hands tense up and clench.  “She’d be attractive and very attentive, she’d play on that teen’s fears and insecurities, she’d start driving wedges between the family and the teen doing her best to separate them from the herd,” and sheer audacity of dad using hunting terms around werewolves floors me.  “She’d be very good at it too, she’d had practice from three other attempts before this one.”

 

What?

 

Three hearts stop at the news and then start beating again, because none of us knew she’d had practice. I’m lost, totally lost, I have no idea what’s going on, and neither do Peter or Derek by the confusion wafting from them.

 

Dad is staring straight at Derek, he’s not glancing around the room and he’s not paying a huge amount of attention to Peter, which is lucky as the Alpha’s eyes flashed red briefly.

 

“Derek,” dad leans forward, “I need to know if a woman approached you, she would have moved from flirting to sex very quickly, she’d have gotten you to hide your ‘relationship’, she’d have slammed any and all attempts for you to be independent, and she would have wanted to know everything about the house you lived in then,” Derek is leaning back away from dad and he’s face has shut down completely, guilt and pain is rolling off of him and I almost gag at the strength of it in my nose.

 

It’s clear Derek isn’t going to talk, even though the answer is written all over his face, Peter’s still acting calm, though surprisingly the rage he’s giving off is dimming, or being overpowered by Derek, it’s hard to tell.

 

“I spoke to some people around town,” Dad isn’t giving up and I’ve seen him change tack like this before, “They remember you back then, lanky, a bit clumsy, they said you were unusual for a teen, you liked to help people, you were always smiling and had your nose stuck in a comic or a book.  You didn’t have a lot of friends, you weren’t good enough at sports to be popular,” And that is a big fat lie of a kind, Derek was born a werewolf he’d be TOO good at sports, that’s why most of them avoid sports.

 

So far everything dad’s said has been harmless but Derek isn’t relaxing he can sense the trap coming up, “They also remember a woman hanging around you, I showed them a photo, they ID’d her,” he digs in his breast pocket and pulls out a photo, it’s facing me and it’s Kate Argent.  “This photo, they ID’d her from this,” he spins it around and Derek’s reaction is immediate he shoves his legs out and the chair scoots back a few feet to smack into Peter’s bedside cabinet.

 

“I, I have to,” Derek flees the small room and heads straight to the small ensuite bathroom, the door slams behind him and my ears pick up the sound of his breathing getting faster and faster as he heads towards a panic attack.

 

I’m so used to being there for Derek that I automatically follow him, “Hey,” I step right into his space without thinking, his breathing is shallow and now is not the time for a dog joke about panting, “Breathe Derek, come on, breathe, listen to my  heart dude, slow yours down, come on big guy,” I try coaxing him gently and shockingly he actually listens to me, I’m not used to Derek doing that, normally he argues with me, gives me a bitch face and grumbles or does amazing things with his eyebrows.

 

“That’s good, keep breathing, come on man, nearly there,” behind me I can hear two people getting closer but Derek’s so focused on me he doesn’t notice them.  “Almost there, Derek, it’s gonna be okay man.”  And I really can’t hide the way my heart blips on that lie, and a big bushy eyebrow twitches in front of me, “Well fine it won’t all be okay, but it’ll be better, you just have to hang on for the better parts dude.” 

 

Those words calm him down more and he nods to me just as dad comes through the door, his arm slung around Peter’s shoulders as he helps the so called ex-coma patient into the bathroom.  “Derek,” Peter is giving off very calm relaxed vibes right now, and his scent isn’t angry anymore, “Was she the girl we thought you were seeing?  Was she the one that made you break your curfew?  To talk back to your mother?  To act out for the first time in your life?”

 

Considering Derek can be so closed off and Mr non commutative, his eyes have always been very expressive and I’ve used them lots of times to work out what’s going through his thick head, I don’t have to right now because he’s drowning in misery, he nods, “Yes, yes Uncle Peter, it was her.”


	17. Chapter 17

Dad doesn’t really ask Derek a lot of questions after that, he just gets Derek to confirm that the relationship was sexual and that Derek had told Kate he was underage.  “Okay thank you Derek,” Dad is smiling and he smells triumphant, like something’s gone really well, “Why don’t we all go and sit back down, Derek’s helped to tie Miss Argent to Beacon Hills and he’s established that her behaviour is identical to the other arsons,” and I so want to know about those.

 

Peter has to play up the muscle wastage he doesn’t have and I help him by tucking him into bed. I know exactly how to fluff the pillows and stack them to support his back, I did it for mom enough times, and I get him comfortable before we all sit back on our chairs.

 

While Derek is still radiating guilt, pain, and fear, Peter is so calm it’s frightening and he’s giving off curiosity, just another reminder that his brain is healing but it isn’t there yet.

 

Sprawling on my chair my knee jiggles as I wait for dad to start, “I’ve very sorry that your family was targeted,” he tells them and he’s completely sincere, “This woman is a highly disturbed and dangerous individual, from the things I’ve been able to get hold of before the FBI and Interpol got involved she has all the classic indicators of being a serial killer.  I need you to know that there is nothing you could have done, your family fit her profile and it wasn’t your fault,” Derek looks away and the smell of guilt gets stronger.

 

And then dad’s words penetrate and I gape like an idiot, Jesus, Kate was a serial killer, we only focused on the Hale fire, on those murders, we, I mean, I, never even thought to widen the damn net and investigate her properly.  I feel like a fool, one of the rules of being a cop is to check out the past and present of a suspect, you can’t assume anything.  Oh god I made such a rookie mistake.

 

Not only has dad done it properly he’s clearly discovered way more than we ever did because he mentioned the FBI but he also mentioned Interpol.

 

My skin prickles and I find Peter studying me thoughtfully, my own heart is too fast and I smell upset and angry, mostly at myself, luckily scent won’t tell him that last bit.

 

“Before your family she targeted three others, she was practicing on them, but she left behind evidence, things we can trace to other crimes, both here in the States and abroad,” which is why Interpol are involved.  “One of the hallmarks of her crimes is that she has a tendency to ‘tidy up’ after herself, and that is why you will be going into hiding, along with both my son and I,” and that is another bombshell, dad never backs down from things, “She’s made it very clear that she will do anything to cover her tracks and being a police officer makes me and my deputies prime targets, we’ll do our jobs but we will protect ourselves and our families.”

 

Whatever fight Derek had left is now gone and he goes quietly with dad to make a statement, leaving me alone with Peter.  A Peter who’s back to studying me, I manage not to fidget under his gaze but it is a battle and then Peter says, “I’m thirsty.”

 

The door is closed and no one can see us so there’s no reason for Peter to not get his own drink, deciding to indulge him I get a cup from the side and the jug of water.  Filling the cup I bring it back to him, “Thank you Stiles,” his tone is slightly mocking as he sips from the cup, “I’m hungry too, the nurses have special jello for me.”

 

Oh my god, I can’t believe I’m doing it but I go out and get a nurse, he brings Peter a small tub of Jello and warns Peter about eating too quickly, and then Peter fakes not being able to feed himself, so I get the job.  This is something I used to help mom with too, right near the end, and I refuse to get grumpy with the guy, even if he is taking advantage of the situation. Tiny spoonful by spoonful I feed Peter and he opens his mouth willingly and chews the jello before swallowing.

 

Throwing the finished pot in the trash I fill up his glass again and sit down, “Hmm, thank you Stiles,” he smiles at me and wiggles on the bed to get comfy, “You really aren’t fighting me at all are you?  At least not openly, though I’m fascinated by the fact that you moved Laura’s body, and you were there the night the Argent bitch came back to town, and then you were also running around town and somehow all her accomplices are now in jail or cooperating with the police…”

 

I give him my innocent look, “Peter did you not hear my dad?  Sometimes in serial killer cases you just need one thing to start the trail back to them, and now the cops have the trail she’ll spend the rest of her life in jail,” his face twists into a grimace, “Or she’ll get the death penalty,” his lips twitch into a smile at that, “And everyone will hear the name Argent and think of her, no one will be hide something this big, they won’t be able to brush it off.”

 

“Even if the one thing is something you made up?” His ‘bitch please’ look is plastered on his face.

 

“Even if,” I agree and then stretch out on my chair, “So you’re no longer in a coma and the cops know all about Kate, that leaves you free to chill out and catch up on the years you missed, think of the games, the films, the series, the books,” I try and tempt him from his vengeance, “Kate will pay and you don’t have to lift one itty bitty claw.”

 

“True, I can spend time with my Pack, that’s you by the way and my moronic nephew,” I blink when he mentions me, “We’re all going to hide away together, remember?” He taunts me and yeah dad mentioned that, but surely he didn’t mean for me to stay with the Hales?

 

“Err… I have school,” I point out and then realise I don’t have to go to school and catch up is going to be a breeze because I’ve done this all before.  Flicking a smirk at Peter I taunt him back, “Does this mean pack puppy piles are on the menu?”

 

“No, werewolves don’t do puppy piles,” Peter all but spits and then composes himself, “We can hunt down rabbits and watch Star Wars in the evenings.”

 

“Star Wars is cool, very classic, as long as you mean the first three and not the new ones, Holy Mother of God did Lucas sell out for merchandising on those, urgh,” I shudder, and the last three, oh my god my eyes will never recover from that shit.

 

“Of course I mean the first three,” and he’s so offended I laugh at him, god I’ve missed him, he was older than me and all the crap we went through took it’s toll, he passed just as peacefully as my dad and I never really got over it, we’d fought like we normally do and were on another break, I never got the chance to tell him I love him.

 

We compare the six films and I know all of his arguments because we’ve done this before, so many times, but for him this is the first time and I can tell he’s sort of impressed by me, and he’s very obviously still studying me.

 

It passes the time until dad gets back with a shaken up Derek, it’s one thing to confess to something, it’s another to have someone write it all down in black and white, to have it all laid out for everyone to see.

 

“Okay our ride is here, it shouldn’t take long,” Dad pats my shoulder, “We’ll be close by, but hard for Kate Argent to find, and then she’ll be shipped off to another state, all of the witnesses are scattered about and the evidence is so overwhelming that no one can clean this up for her.”

 

“Of course Sheriff whatever you feel is appropriate, I trust you implicitly,” Peter agrees and he meekly lets them put him in a wheelchair, we have to follow behind him as he’s wheeled out, he takes deep breathes when we get outside, “I have missed this,” he mutters and only Derek and I would be able hear him.

 

Dad doesn’t trust anyone to guard me or the Hales so we’re going to be staying together for a few days, it’s not a big deal, I can hang around Peter and ground him some more, and with Kate being dealt with, a Beta who’s not fighting him and a possible new Beta to woo, which is Derek, Peter should be a happy little blood lusting Alpha puppy, and I wonder how I can talk him into cuddles when dad isn’t around.

 

Using his knowledge of the area, dad goes a very long way around to a place four towns over.  I’ve been here with him for work stuff, there’s not much to do here and he soon pulls up down a quiet sleepy street, “Okay we’re here,” the house is bigger than ours and someone is already here, I can hear a heartbeat inside “Ah Peter’s nurse should be meeting us here, the doctors are so impressed with the muscles you’ve not lost that they think one person should be able to provide care for you,” Dad says and misses Peter’s put upon sigh, “Though I’m sure Derek and I can step in if you need it.”

 

“That’s very kind of you Sheriff,” Peter plays along and I hide my grin.

 

It’s a mini performance getting Peter into the house, he’ll be confined to the downstairs areas, and he has a huge bedroom with really nice TV on the wall, “The FBI are footing the bills,” Dad is amused by that, “So please enjoy,” dad has grumbled about his budget for years so he’ll be more than happy to run up a small bill for the FBI to pay.

 

The nurse fusses around Peter and he fakes being tired to get us all to leave him alone, and then dad shows us around upstairs, we all have our own rooms and the FBI have already footed the bill for some awesome TV, I’ll still be bored pretty quickly but it could be worse and I smile to myself at getting Kate caught so quickly, and removing dad from any danger, because he’ll be staying here too.


	18. Chapter 18

I was right I am bored.

 

Giving up on trying to watch infomercials, because while that shit is funny it’s not that interesting and there are only so many ways you can clean bathroom tiles and chop vegetables, I wander into the kitchen and hunt up dinner for tonight.

 

Apparently the food in the freezer was also on the FBI budget and I grin as I pull the steaks out, oh yeah we are so going to enjoy these, for a few brief seconds I wonder about Peter and his nurse who will watch his diet, I can always sneak it to him later.

 

Bustling around the kitchen I’m soon yelling for them to come to the table, I may then boss Derek around to set the table.  I do feel mean though when the nurse wheels Peter out and he has to eat a little pot of jello instead of steak.  The rest of us tuck in and the steak is soon gone, as is the frozen pie I found in the freezer.

 

“Stiles that was amazing,” Dad complements me and I can’t help it when my chest puffs out at the praise.

 

“Thanks dad,” and I grin smugly at him, “And you don’t even have to do the washing up because we have a dishwasher.”

 

“Even better,” Dad stands up and pats my shoulder, “Okay I have to go and phone the agent in charge, I shouldn’t be too long, we have things to go through as I didn’t get to hand over to him properly.”

 

Which leaves the four of us, the nurse packs Peter straight off to bed and he smells upset and angry.  I start to gather the plates but Derek automatically steps in and helps me, so we do it in one trip.  He even loads the dishwasher without being told so I lean against a counter and say, “Peter, tell me when your nurse is gone, I’ll sneak the steak in I cooked you earlier.” he’ll hear me easily enough, “Oh and I saved you some pie too.”

 

Confident that he’ll call me when he’s free to eat I go back to watching Derek working, he’s as ridiculously well-built now as he was then, and I bet he still runs around without his shirt off given half a chance.  You have to know Derek pretty well to realise he’s still freaked out from earlier so I dig back into the freezer and snag the ice-cream.

 

It’s plain old vanilla, which works best for his enhanced taste buds, it will be more natural and less chemically for him.  Dishing out a very generous portion for him, I scoop a little portion for me.

 

When Derek finishes his job he finds me sitting at the kitchen table nibbling ice-cream and pointing to his much bigger dish, “Derek it would be rude not to eat with me man, I did cook after all.”

 

He sits and eats his ice-cream in silence but his shoulders aren’t as tense and I can’t help teasing him, “Look, I can guess that you’re the kind of guy that likes the gym, so if you check out the attic, I may have found a few things up there you’d like,” a few things along the line of an attic conversion and a mini gym ready for use up there.

 

“Thank you,” Derek’s pushing the ice-cream around in his dish, “You’re a werewolf,” he states boldly.

 

“Yup,” I admit, “Got Bitten,” I don’t volunteer the information that Peter’s the one that Bit me.  Licking my spoon I chase the last piece of ice-cream.  “You and Peter are Born wolves right?” I ask already knowing the answer, he nods, “Cool, but that must suck not being able to do sport, I had to give up Lacrosse, ‘coz there is no way anyone’s gonna believe I can play as well as I can as a werewolf.”

 

“Lacrosse?” Derek frowns at me, “Isn’t that the one with hockey sticks and little nets?”

 

“Yeah,” I give up getting the last few dribbles of ice-cream, “I used to be a klutz at it though, so I was always benched, and it’s so hard pretending to be that bad at it that I’m glad my bestie Scott gave up too, this way it looks like we gave up together, you know, less suspicious and stuff.  So what sport did you want to be able to play?”

 

“Baseball,” Derek says and I nod like I didn’t already know that, “I tried practicing so I wouldn’t hit the ball too hard when I was in high school but…” He breaks off and eats more ice-cream.

 

“But if you broke concentration you could smack the ball out of the ground and then people talk,” I finish off for him, “It totally sucks, but…” I drawl the word out, “I’m glad you and Peter are here now, it’s nice not being alone,” and this is one of Derek’s big weaknesses, the need to be close but being afraid of losing someone, he’s horrible at reaching out so I do it for him.  Hopping off my stool I carry both of our bowls to the sink and rinse them.

 

He hasn’t moved he’s sitting there watching me, there are a multitude of scents coming from him and I don’t know what half of them are yet.  Walking up to him I hug him, he stiffens in my arms, “Thanks man,” I tell him and then leave him there staring after me.

 

Listening in on the house I know dad is still on the phone using ‘cop speak’ and he sounds impressed with whoever is on the other side of the phone, so that’s going well.  The sound of water and splashing is coming from Peter’s area of the house as well as the nurse talking him through the bath she’s giving him, I don’t laugh at him and I settle down to waste time watching TV, there are some reruns and I let myself get distracted.

 

I’m still resting on the sofa, my legs are hooked over the back and I’m hanging upside down because it gives me a head rush and the programme is boring and predictable.  Resolving to go channel surfing I perk up when I hear Peter wish his nurse goodnight and the soft click of a door.

 

“Stiles,” Peter says quietly and I flip off the sofa to land on my feet fairly silently, humans wouldn’t have heard me but the werewolves in the house will.

 

Checking that the nurse has retired to her room, I nuke Peter’s dinner in the microwave and then sneak into his room.  His nurse doesn’t hear me and but he does and he smiles as I bring his food to him.

 

Unfortunately we have to be quiet but hopefully tomorrow we can talk more, and me bringing him food should settle his wolfiness, I’m being a good little Beta to him and this is keeping him away from the Argent family so the cops can deal with them.

 

It doesn’t take him long to eat the food and then I’m sneaking back out to wash up and hide the evidence.  We get away with it and I go to bed early and meditate.  Dad is still on the phone when I roll over to go to sleep.

 

I wake up to a day that is school free, no homework, no teachers, no teenagers bugging me, I take my time getting ready and then bound down the stairs to do breakfast, I decide on omelettes again because dad liked them and he’s actually sleeping right now he’s breathing deep and even, he needs it, maybe this will be like a mini holiday for him, before he goes back to being Sheriff.

 

Humming I time everything for when the other three of turn up.  Peter is once again given Jello and the nurse, Mary, is so happy with his progress she’s sure he’ll be on solid food before he knows it and praises him like he’s six years old.

 

“Hey can I sit with Peter later?” I ask her, “He mentioned Star Wars when I was watching him for dad,” she wavers but agrees and makes me promise not to tire him out, “I promise, and if Peter does doze off I’ll pause the film, we can finish it another day.”

 

Peter gives me a grateful look and I plot to get as many puppy pile hugs out of him as I can, werewolves are tactile creatures, he’s been alone too long.  Plus I’ll get hugs and from the ones we’ve had since I’ve been a werewolf they’ll be totally awesome.

 

Derek volunteers to clear up again and then vanishes upstairs, I hear the clink of weights shortly afterwards and he’s found the gym. That leaves me free to explore the house properly.

 

And that takes me maybe an hour, god this place is boring, there is nothing to do, even school is more interesting than this.  Sighing I drift around the house and try to train my nose to pick up all smells here, it’s the faint faded scent of people that must have owned this house and lots and lots of cleaning products.

 

Urgh.

 

Flopping onto my bed I contemplate joining Derek in the gym, my ego can take the bruising of being near him as he goes all superman on the workout, if he wasn’t a werewolf I’d suspect him of being addicted to the endorphin hit he gets from all the exercise.

 

Groaning I roll over and hope Scott’s having more fun than me right now.


	19. Chapter 19

Dad stirred and got up in time for lunch and I fed everyone and talked the nurse into letting me spend time with Peter.  He’s already done some simple physio with her and I sneak some sandwiches in with me so that Peter can eat as we watch films.

 

Luckily there are DVDs in the house and Star Wars are some of them, I load up the first one in Peter’s room and close the door, the nurse is off talking to dad and discussing gardening, dad’s a closet gardener so they’ll be busy for hours.

 

Passing Peter the smuggled sandwiches I sit by his bedside and let him eat, we watch the film in silence, until all the sandwiches are gone, and then I hop up onto the bed with him and lay down pillowing my head on his shoulder.  Other than a raised eyebrow from him, he doesn’t mention the puppy pile going on.

 

Over the course of the film we make the odd comment and then I have to swap films, damn it, things are easier in the future, whole libraries of films are on tiny data crystals so none of this getting up to change discs.  Snuggling back down with him I inch closer and stretch letting my free arm curl over his stomach, he stiffens again but still doesn’t say anything.

 

This time we talk over the film some more and his comments are familiar and pithy making me laugh, I let rip a few times too and his whole body laughs along with him.  In fact by the end we’re both laughing so hard I’d have felt like I was busting a gut when I was human.

 

God I have missed him so fucking much.

 

It would be so natural and normal to just kiss him right now and I turn my head to stare at him, well at his lips anyway.  The scaring on his face is only slightly jarring to me, it’s still Peter under there, when I flick my gaze up to his eyes, those baby blues are studying me just as much as they have been since we met again in my room.

 

Pulling away I sigh regretfully and go to change the film again.

 

I make sure to cuddle with him and this time his arm lifts to make room for me and I fit in just like I used to, under my ear his heart beats steadily and my own clenches painfully, I really want him to heal, to be my Peter again.

 

It doesn’t take him long to make me laugh at the film and we’re both making light saber noises when he jerks his head around, “The nurse is coming,” he murmurs and I can hear footsteps heading this way, I slip from his embrace and the bed and onto the waiting chair.

 

“Thanks,” I whisper back and turn my attention to the film.

 

We’re not even half way through the last film but she insists that Peter needs an afternoon nap and I get kicked out.  “We’ll finish it later Stiles,” he promises me and I nod and slink out of his room.

 

With nothing to do I find dad and he lasts a whole ten minutes before making me go to the gym, “Just work off  some of your energy Stiles, I’ll see if we can get some games thingies for you to keep you occupied.”

 

“But dad,” I whine and then grin at him as I run off and up to the attic, I’m careful to trip and founder about as I make my way up there.

 

Derek is still working out like a madman, honestly the guy’s muscles have muscles, why would he need to keep going?  He’s not even sweaty, it’s depressing.

 

“Hey Derek,” I all but prance into the room, he glances at me from the floor where he’s doing push ups, one armed push ups the complete show off.

 

“Stiles,” he doesn’t even pause his routine just keeps up that punishing pace and I roll my eyes at him.

 

Now I’m a werewolf I should be better at all of this stuff, checking to see where dad is, he’s still downstairs, I walk over to the weights, normally I’d have someone spot me, but I’ve got super strength and I want to test my limits.  Derek’s been on here already and I’m not sure if I’m stronger or weaker than him, to be on the safe side I take a few of the weights off and then try it.  I can do it, it’s not that easy and I strain a bit, but this is far more than I used to be able to do.

 

Nodding to myself I work my way around the room trying out all the equipment I can.  Derek’s doing more reps and doesn’t say a freaking word, god I’m going to have to retrain him all over again, urgh, I got him talking to me before, it only took a few years.

 

At least it wastes the day away and then I can cook for people.  I keep it simple and we have chicken, cooked the way Peter likes.  I put a plate to one side for him and I’ll sneak it in later.

 

Pleased with myself I chat to dad and burn his ears about anything and everything, I’ve not had a chance to talk all day and I blitz it out in one go.  He’s used to me so he nods in the right places and fights his way in to say a few words.  I glance around the table to find Derek poking at his plate and I’m sure I remember him enjoying it when I’ve cooked it before.  Mary, the nurse is eating but her eyes are wide and stunned, another victim Stileised, I’m so going to have to trade mark that.  Peter’s smiling affably and nods to the chicken I mutter, “Later,” under my breath and he nods understanding I’ll bring him food later today.

 

Derek does eat the chicken but keeps staring at Peter and then me, he’s being weird again, maybe my talk on not being alone is penetrating and he’ll be open to the idea of being Pack, it would be easier if he accepted and joined willingly.

 

“Thank you son,” Dad tells me, “That was amazing, I’ve never tasted anything like that before,” Derek stares at him this time, the weirdo.

 

“You’re welcome dad,” I gather up the plates, “And you can even have some dessert for that.”

 

“Thanks,” Dad’s reply is dry, “As long as it isn’t that tofu crap you keep saying is food, I’ll eat it.”

 

“Tofu is good for you,” I call out over my shoulder, “Think how happy your heart will be with tofu!”

 

“Yeah but my stomach isn’t!” Is yelled back making me laugh, “That stuff tastes like crap Stiles,” and then he goes silent, “Er sorry, it’s a long running battle with my son…”

 

“Its fine Sherriff,” Peter says calmly, “It’s nice to be around a family again, even in my coma I seemed to know mine were gone, so in a way it fills a gap.”  Well that was smart of him, “And your son is a very lively young man, very intelligent, you must be very proud of him.”

 

“He’s a handful because of his ADHD, but his mom and I, we’ve always been proud of him,” I’m manhandling the trifle out of the fridge and nearly drop it when he says that, god I miss my mom, and hearing dad say that kicks me in the heart in a good way.

 

Dishing up Peter’s I hide it for him and then carry our desserts out to be eaten, Peter likes this dessert too and he smiles at me when he sees it while Derek scowls, which is extra weird because he likes it as well.

 

After dinner Derek does the dishes again and Peter gets dragged off for a bath.  Dad co-ops me for some manly bonding and we watch sports.  Derek joins us and we have to critique the players, the game and the plays, while being far away from the action because that’s totally fair.

 

Tonight the nurse is being extra vigilant with Peter because of the physio and I have to go to bed before I can feed him.  Mentally I set a clock in my head to wake me in four hours, everyone should be asleep and I can give him his dinner then.

 

At the right moment my eyes flick open and I listen to the house, no one is wandering around and everyone seems to be asleep, “Peter,” I hiss and both Peter and Derek wake up.

 

“Yes Stiles,” Peter murmurs in his room.

 

“Dude you up for your dinner now?” I ask him, it’s a dumb question but I give him the option to say no.

 

“Yes, it smelt divine earlier,” he says and I use all my stealth to get his dinner and then nuke it as quietly as I can.  Bringing it to him I’m unsurprised when he’s sitting up waiting for me.

 

Again he eats silently and polishes off everything.  I clean up and go back to bed feeling better that he’s accepting me so easily.


	20. Chapter 20

Something is going on.

 

We’ve been here almost a week, and I know it doesn’t take that long to transfer a prisoner, Kate should be gone and in another state by now, and Dad is jittery and anxious.  I smell a setup of some kind.

 

When dad starts avoiding me I know he’s hiding something big.

 

We’ve been cooped up in this house all this time, I’m bored out of my skull and I have way too much energy to burn.  Derek is grumpy as hell with me and glares if I get too close, I have no idea what the matter is but I assume it’s because he’s grieving for Laura, I’ve given him some space but I’ve let him know I’m here if he needs me.

 

The only person that’s thriving at the moment is Peter.

 

His nurse is giving him more and more freedom, he’s still faking not being able to walk, but I can come and watch films and TV with him for hours at a time and he’s fun to talk to, he’s so smart he makes me feel stupid, it’s a challenge to keep up with him.

 

At the moment I’m curled up next to him on his bed, he’s moved his arm so I can snuggle into him as we watch Buffy.  We’re both picking holes in the storyline but I’m totally behind the strong female character because Buffy rocks.  My arm is slung over his stomach and that hand is holding his, well I tried, he’s currently playing with my fingers and it’s so Peter I sigh contentedly and zone back into Buffy staking some more vamps.

 

I wish all my problems could be staked like that, life would be easier, if bloodier and messier.

 

We stay like that until lunch when I go off and make a salad for everyone, I make sure that Derek has extra protein in his, werewolf and all that and I sneak cold chicken for myself while I’m making the food.  I’ll give Peter his food later.

 

Knowing me far too well dad manages to block me from asking too many questions by declaring this afternoon a sports-athon, that means we’ll have witnesses, even though Derek and Peter would both have heard us from anywhere in the house we’d have had the illusion of privacy.

 

And boy am I learning about that, no one should be able to smell that their dad masturbated that morning.  That is just plain wrong on far too many levels.  It’s disturbing enough to smell Derek, Peter and Mary the nurse as it is, I don’t need to know that about my dad.

 

Sitting next to dad on the couch I can’t help resting my head on his shoulder, I missed him for years, it’s great to have time with him again, and the moment we’re not neck deep in werewolf shit we’re doing father son bonding that isn’t being stuck in a house together.

 

The sports thing is okay but I’m restless, my knee jiggles and I squirm in my seat, dad is so used to it he just adjusts as I move and doesn’t say anything about it.  My lycanthropy isn’t curing my ADHD but it is giving it something to focus on, I’m tracking heartbeats and smells and odd noises, not that I’m aware of most of it, but the big thing is that the werewolf in me wants to run around and so do I, I hate being stuck in with nothing to do and TV only does so much.

 

After the sports bonding I follow Derek up to the gym, “Hey Derek,” I saunter after him, “I’m bored, wanna play basketball?” Seriously they have a hoop up here too.  “One on one, mano a mano, wolfy dude vs wolfy dude,” he doesn’t look impressed.  “Come on man I’m boooooored!”

 

All I get is a raised eyebrow.

 

“Derek,” I cross my arms, “Dude I have ADHD I need to burn some energy off or I’m only going to get more annoying,” if anything his face sours further and I brighten at the sight, that usually means he’s going to start giving in soon.

 

“Fine,” he huffs and I woop and jump about a bit.

 

And I learn why Derek always held back in our past games, Jesus the man can move the on makeshift court, he’s like the wind just getting everywhere I’m not, unless I have the ball and then he’s all up in my face for like seconds before he has the ball and I’m so outclassed it’s unreal.

 

It’s also awesome.

 

I have to work to keep the ball from him, to keep up and attempt to stop him scoring, I lose at a humiliating rate, but it’s working and I’m nowhere near as jittery when we finish, I give him a hug in thanks and he stiffens in my arms again.

 

Humming I make dinner and bake some fish, some lightly fried stir fry veg, all fried in water, because that is a thing, just tricky.  And then fresh fruit for dessert is carried out to my appreciative audience.

 

“Stiles this is amazing,” Dad takes a second helping of fruit and I’ve finally found a way to get fruit into his diet, “You have hidden talents I never knew about son.”

 

“Thanks dad,” I cover with, “You can learn lots of stuff from the internet,” which hints that’s how I learnt to cook, when in fact it was an act of desperation and Peter is an awesome teacher when you sweet talk him into it, I knew the basics by then because of college but he taught me more than I thought was possible.

 

I clear down the table with Derek, something that is fast becoming routine, I’m gonna miss this when we get back home, when the sound of a car reaches my ears.  I’m not that concerned until I hear it park up on our drive.

 

Derek’s stiffened beside me and Peter whispers a warning from his room, only we’re hiding what we are and have to act surprised when the doorbell rings.  And then I get the unpleasant surprise of learning that Mary the sweet, mild mannered nurse is an Agent, or at least has had training because she’s the one that opens the door with dad being her backup.

 

“Yes, can I help you?” She starts saying and then goes quiet, “Sir, sorry we didn’t know you’d be coming…”

 

“That’s because I did tell you,” I think it’s the same man from the facility, the one dad spoke to, “I need to speak to the Sheriff.”

 

“Here,” the slight scuff of a foot lets me know dad stepped out from his hiding place.

 

“Sheriff Stilinski the operation was both a success and a total failure,” and if anything the man’s voice is stressed.  I raise an eyebrow at Derek like he’d know what was going on, I get a bitch look off of him and I roll my eyes, he really doesn’t change.

 

“Oh?  Kate did try to escape then,” and it takes a few seconds for dad’s words to penetrate and I gape like a fish, “Did she get away?”

 

“No, we caught her red handed, and her two accomplices, we’ve also apprehended a group of men that were sent to kill you and the deputies, it’s just…” He hesitates, “There was a severe complication at the station.”

 

“Come, in close the door and we’ll talk about this in an office,” Dad breaks in and adds, “Mary protect the others and try and keep my son out of this.”

 

“Yes sir,” she agrees.

 

Screw that I want to know what’s going on, I dart out of the kitchen and head towards the front door, “Hey dad, I thought I heard the bell, is everything okay?”

 

“Go in the kitchen Stiles,” Dad waves me away and he’s reading a report and then the blood drains from his face, “Oh my god, how the hell did this happen!” And dad rarely raises his voice, “The station was supposed to be empty, there were only supposed to be trained specialists and now this!”

 

The agent cringes and I almost feel sorry for him, almost.

 

“Sir, we weren’t expecting that at all, the agent in front was trying to get rid of them when Kate Argent made her escape, she deliberately changed direction and headed straight for them,” the desperation coming off of him is palatable, and really unattractive.

 

Reading over dad’s shoulder I can heal the squeak of Peter’s wheelchair getting closer and closer as I skim the report.  Boring crap about checking posts and then bingo, the breakout, and four underage victims who were there to report one Stiles Stilinski missing.  Miss Erika Reyes had a fit after being beaten, Miss Allison Argent had her right arm broken in five places, Miss Lydia Martin was relatively unscathed with only a broken nose and Mr Scott McCall was rushed to the ER with gunshot wounds.

 

For a few seconds my minds blanks.

 

“Scott,” I croak out and shit that was never supposed to happen, he was never supposed to get hurt, I sway on my feet and now I know why dad went pale, because of Scott, because of my bro.

 

I’m only vaguely aware of a heartbeat that’s racing too fast to be human, of the wolf rising in me because one of mine is injured, Scott is hurt and Scott needs me.  Derek is suddenly in my way and holding me back so I growl low and hard.

 

If I have to I will go through him to get to Scott.

 

And then Peter is there, “Stiles,” he calls my name too softly for humans to hear and I turn to look at him, he’s sitting in his wheelchair, only a hint of red in his eyes.

 

That’s when I get another horrible surprise as my wolf instinctively caves to him, we’ve been so close to him lately that the power he holds over us is so much stronger than before, I stand no chance when he whispers, “Sleep,” and I mentally curse myself as I fall into blackness, my plan to help him control his wolf has backfired on me, I can’t fight his command.

 

I can’t do anything but sleep.

 

My last thought is of Scott and I pray he survived being shot.


	21. Chapter 21

Stirring awake I blink in the dimness of my room and then sit bolt upright because I’m in my fucking room, at home.

 

Shit, Scott.

 

“Stiles, calm down,” Its Peter’s voice from downstairs and my wolf flops over onto the bed forcing me to follow.  Holy crap that wasn’t in the game plan.

 

At least being calm gives me a chance to think and wonder what the fuck happened, why would Scott and the others be at the police station to register me as missing?  And how did the four of them get together in the first place?  Why did they?

 

Soft footsteps on the stairs have me looking up expectantly as Derek walks into my room, “You’re awake,” is all he says and then he grimaces, “So Peter’s the new Alpha,” and yeah, Derek didn’t know about Peter.

 

“Yeah, he must have gotten the Alpha power from Laura when she died,” I hedge skipping over the fact that Peter’s the one that murdered her.

 

He nods, “He said he Bit you, in the woods…”  And I wasn’t expecting Peter to own up to that so I shrug, “You’ve not been a werewolf long but you’ve taken to it like you were a Born werewolf,” he sounds and smells confused.

 

“Dude, Hunters aside, the Bite can be either a gift or a curse, I guess it’s what you choose to do with it that counts,” That’s something Scott never really understood, he never wanted the Bite or the power that came with it, he tried to do his best with it but in the end Allison was his world, she was everything he needed and if he could have found a true cure he would have taken it.

 

Striding forward Derek comes to kneel beside my bed, “Yes, it is a gift, and in a way it makes us brothers,” and holy shit Derek would choose now to do the fucking family bonding thing, I nod shakily, “Okay little brother, let’s get you downstairs, Peter’s waiting with good news for you.”

 

“Good news? I daren’t even hope that Scott is okay.

 

“Good news,” and with that Derek helps me up from the bed, I’m still in the same clothes as before, and we make our way downstairs.  Peter is indeed waiting for us, the couch is all made up into a bed and there’s the blow up mattress on the floor too, I must make a noise because Derek gives that small tentative smile of his, “Your dad said we could stay here until he’s sure it’s safe for us to leave.”

 

“Oh,” I say weakly and get deposited next to Peter on the couch slash bed.

 

Peter turns and enfolds me into a hug missing the slight frown on Derek’s face as he does it, “Are you calmer Stiles?”  He asks with the right amount of concern in his voice but there’s no smell to go along with it.

 

“A bit, Derek said there was good news?” Oh my god please let Scott be okay.

 

“Yes, the news, your little friend Scott pulled through the surgery with no complications, he’s in post op and he’ll take time recovering but he will recover,” he says and I let out a shaky breath I didn’t even know I was holding.

 

“Oh thank god,” I cling a bit to Peter and shake, Jesus that was too close, “What the hell happened?  Why was he there?”

 

“Ah that is a much longer answer,” Peter pets me, “Derek could you get us all some water, I’ll need it to spin the tale to Stiles, and Stiles has been sleeping for the last eighteen hours…”

 

“I was out for how long?” I blurt and try to reconfigure my mental calendar.

 

“Eighteen hours, your dad took you to the hospital but it was a bit full from the drama with the police and you got sent home, we offered to watch you” is said sourly as Peter hates being interrupted, just for that his hands are rough as he drags me closer to him, “Now where was I?  Oh yes, water and then I’ll tell you.”

 

He makes me wait for Derek to get all of us water, and Derek huffs at having to do that, when all three of us are sipping at water Peter finally tells me what I want to know.

 

When they left ours the three Argents fled town, well Chris and Victoria did, Allison dragged her heels and wanted to stay because of Scott, she wasn’t told why they were leaving and neither of her parents told her about Kate being arrested.  I’m fairly certain that Peter is enjoying that bit and I don’t know why.

 

Scott was left without moi and Allison and he bugged the shit out of everyone trying to find us.  For some reason Lydia caved after a day and started helping him which is when they learnt that the Sheriff was also missing and by then Erika was back at school too.  The doggedly determined trio, Peter’s words not mine, staked out my house because no one knew the deputies and they were beginning to believe there was a conspiracy in play, they were sort of right.

 

In the meantime Allison had worked out that her parents are hiding something from her and she managed to lift her own car keys and fled back to Beacon Hills in time to run into the trio on a chance encounter.

 

Rumours about Kate and the Hale fire meant that Allison now knew why her parents had run and she hid at Lydia’s so they wouldn’t be able to find her.  The four of them made a plan to go to the police here in Beacon Hills and if that didn’t work they’d keep going to other towns to raise a missing person’s report on me and my dad.

 

Only the plan my dad and the various agencies hashed together meant that Kate was getting out, because she’d done it before, this way they’d control the escape, she’d automatically become a flight risk, and they could catch the guys sent to kill the local cops and everything would be nicely wrapped up in a bow.

 

Except that the four teens walked into the station at the same time as Kate busted out, hearing her niece yelling at the front desk because no one was taking them seriously, Kate went to extract revenge on her brother Chris by killing Allison, because Kate is under the delusion that this was all set up by Chris, because she doesn’t believe that anyone else could have worked out what she’d done.

 

“After that I couldn’t hear any more because we’d gotten here,” Peter reclines like a king on the bed, “It’s a pity because the conversation your dad was having was very fascinating, I really wouldn’t want to be the person on the other end of that line, your father was remarkably cutting with just a few words,” and yeah dad can do that when you really piss him off.

 

“It really is a pity Kate was subdued,” his eyes flicker red and his voice growls, “I could have hunted the bitch down and ripped her throat out, as she’d be a wanted criminal no one would have investigated a lucky animal attack.”

 

And he’s back to being classic psycho Peter.

 

“The humans would ask too many questions,” Derek points out and his face has shut down again, “This way she’ll go on trial, she’ll go to prison and if she ever gets out alive, the Hunters will kill her themselves for bringing too much attention to them.”  I hadn’t thought of that point, damn I wanted her to suffer in prison for a while first.

 

“Perhaps,” Peter shrugs it off, “It’s all moot now, she’s been moved to a maximum security and she’s in solitary confinement after beating up three guards as they transferred her,” he smiles a happy smile and he smells happy too, “She’s in a tiny little room, all trapped, all alone, she can’t even see the sun, or feel the wind, or hear the birds in the trees,” and yep he’s revelling in the fact that she is wide awake and in theory suffering as he did in his coma.

 

My eyes catch Derek’s and we are in perfect agreement that Peter is crazy cakes, we’ll watch him, and in a few months he’ll be more lucid and the part of his brain that processes emotions will be better, he’ll be more capable of empathy.

 

“Thank you Stiles,” his arm squeezes around me and his eyes fade to blue, “Thank you extracting a long lasting revenge on her, my way would have been far too short.”

 

“Err,” I freeze, he’s not supposed to know it was me.

 

“Well you went to all that trouble to keep her alive, you made sure my nurse was found out and you knew exactly who did what so you could make them go to the police,” Peter points out as he moves to put his glass down with deceptive slowness.  “I have to wonder at you Stiles, at how a teenage boy was able to take the Bite of a newly made Alpha and not only keep from screaming but actually petted me and kept me calm,” he rolls over closer to me and his eyes are glowing red again.

 

“Then there was how we met outside my care facility, you made all the right moves to surrender to me, you didn’t freak out about being a werewolf once.  In fact the only time you’ve ever fought me is when I tried to put my claws in your neck to convince you to help me,” he pounces and pins me to the couch my glass goes flying, luckily it’s empty.  “So Stiles do you have anything to say?”

 

I have to keep most of my attention on Peter but I can see Derek frowning and getting his ‘thinking’ face on, damn it, I do not need this thing being all complicated.

 

And then the doorbell rings and I point a finger towards it, “Um, I think we should answer that.”


	22. Chapter 22

In seconds the two werewolves are sitting innocently in my living room, or in Peter’s case laying on his pull out bed innocently, and my glass is neatly put on a coaster on the coffee table.  Rolling my eyes at them because I can I go to answer the door.

 

“Steven,” It’s Lydia.  Lydia Martin is standing on my doorstep, she’s dressed beautifully but nothing can detract from the two black eyes and the thing on her nose holding it straight while it heals.

 

“Hey Lydia, wait who’s Steven?” I have no idea how to process Lydia being here, let alone Lydia helping Scott find me when dad hid us from Kate.

 

“You are,” She says calmly and I may have hopped realities because my name sure as shit ain’t Steven.

 

“No it’s not,” I point out and stare at her wondering what she wants, I have a possible situation on my hands and I need her gone.

 

“Well it has an S and a T at the front, I wasn’t paying attention,” she admits as she flips her hair, it’s one of her tells, she’s not as comfortable as she’s acting and now I can smell her emotions as well, she’s actually slightly nervous.

 

“Right, oh yeah dad said you tried to find me, thanks for helping Scott out, hey have you seen him in the hospital yet?  I haven’t made it and I really need to know he’s okay, you know he has asthma right?” I roll right on and blabber at her hoping she’ll go away.  “And I’ve always wondered about your hair colour, I meant obviously it’s natural but do you add anything to it because I’ve seen those natural ones, the one with the henna, and do you do that at all, because that colour is like really strawberry blonde and perfect…” Her eyes aren’t glazing yet, instead they’re narrowing.

 

“Stop!” She holds a delicate hand up, “If we are going to date you have to control your mouth when you talk, and we will have to get you new clothes, maybe send you to dance lessons to iron out the physical awkwardness, the hair has to go, we’ll teach you to eat properly and you have got to stop gaping the way you do.”

 

Huh?

 

“What?” I’m confused, “Did you just say you want to date me?”  Did I body swap?

 

“Yes,” She gives me the look that says I’m less than an amebae on the intelligence scale.

 

“Huh,” Lydia Martin wants to date teenage me without knowing all about the werewolf shit going on.  “Why?” I ask her stunned and then add, “Wait you said I have to change everything about me?  Really?  Lydia what happened to loving someone regardless of their faults and caring for the inner them?”  I cross my arms and try to judge her back, I don’t think I succeed.

 

“Why?” She gives me a coy dumb look, “I saw you on the field, I know what you can really do Stiles, and since Jackson,” her eyes go icy and I almost step back from the rage in them, “Dumped me because he’s decided to get caught up in the Argent family feud and sided with that old bitch Kate, something to do with being a man and his time,” she waves a hand and my mind can’t keep up with the fact that Jackson is tangled up in this somehow and because of Kate, so that technically makes the ex-Kanima a Hunter, sort of.

 

“Er,” I have no idea how to ask how Jackson got ensnared by Kate, “Kate Argent, like the mass serial killer Kate Argent?” It’s the best I’ve got right now because I really have no clue what the hell is going on, none of this was supposed to happen.

 

“Yes that one. The woman is old, past it, and she puts her make up on with a trowel,” And clearly Lydia is not taking getting dumped well, “Jackson was so annoyed with McCall getting Allison, that he went behind my back and hit on her a few times, she turned him down but he turned up at her house and then her aunt must have taken an interest in him because he dumped me before the woman was arrested and in his own words,” she lifts her hands to air quote, “’Older women understand a man’s needs better’,” and holy shit I did not see that coming at all.

 

“Wait so she committed statutory rape with a teen?” I manage to hold off on the again, and then my brain catches up and I’m speaking before I can think it through, “Oh my god, Lydia we have to tell my dad about that, she must have been targeting the Whittmores next,” and I’m a genius I can totally spin this to put Kate further in the shit, “He was really lucky she was arrested so quickly, she’d have probably burnt his house down with him and his family in it,” and that’s when Lydia really listens to what I say because she pales and sways very slightly while her heart thunders.

 

“Jackson?” Her hand creeps up to neck seeking the key he got made for her, the same key that ultimately saved him in another time and place.

 

Only the barest noise behind me stops me from jumping when Derek clears his throat, “Stiles, Peter’s ready to go the hospital so you can see your friends, I can keep an eye on both of you while I’m there.  Your other friend can come with us if she wants,” and the normal antisocial scowl is there.

 

“Um, we need to see my dad,” I tell Derek, he must have heard our conversation just now.

 

“Your dad said he would be at the hospital taking statements,” is offered by Derek and this smacks of Peter somehow, the Alpha is up to something, at least I’m fairly sure he’s up to something, he should be trying to interrogate me right now.

 

“Fine but we’re taking my car,” Lydia takes charge and then stares at us, “Well come on then,” and then she flounces off towards her car leaving us staring after her.

 

“Gentlemen,” Peter says from in the living room, “We’ll have to keep up the pretence of me not being able to walk, so you’ll have to push me and load me into the lovely Lydia’s car,” and I’m a little creeped out with Peter being anywhere near Lydia, it took her years to recover from him.

 

Walking into the living room I find Peter ready with his shoes and socks on and smelling of rage and jealousy, weird.  Grabbing my own shoes I help Derek with the show of getting Peter outside and then getting him comfy in the front seat of Lydia’s car, her gasp of horror is loud to my ears and her eyes are glued to Peter’s face which makes him angrier.

 

Wracking my brains for how they learnt to bury the hatchet I lean over Peter to put his seatbelt on and try for an idle tone, “So Peter, this is Lydia, she’s one of the most fashionable ladies at my school, I’m sure she knows the difference between apricot and peach,” because even living with Peter I never learnt that they look the same to me.

 

“Really?” He’s mad at me now.

 

Lydia doesn’t seem to notice because she has to show off and points out her own clothes and where they come from and then Peter asks which boutique because Paris and New York do have subtle differences after all and then Lydia smiles, “I know but Paris has that something…”

 

“So it does,” and the rage leaks out of Peter.

 

Climbing in the back with Derek I’m subjected to listening to them debate fashion and it’s now that I remember mammoth shopping trips and credit card bills that made me faint as well as an entire damn extension on the house for Peter and his clothes.

 

“Oh my god I’ve created a monster,” I mutter and Derek smirks at me while Peter snorts at me.

 

We have to go through a performance to get Peter out of the front seat and into the fold up wheelchair at the hospital.  Lydia is unusually patient and doesn’t make fun of us, in fact she graciously lets one of us push the wheelchair as she walks beside Peter, “I’ll have to bring the article about the scarves over Peter, most of them aren’t up to scratch but there are a few hidden gems …” I switch off and wander behind them.

 

The receptionist lets me know where Scott is and my dad is in with him so that’s a good sign if Scott’s up to giving a statement.  I can get Lydia to tell dad her story, get her off my back, keep Peter distracted from interrogating me and see Scott for myself.

 

We round a corner near Scott’s room when Derek stiffens and lets out a sub vocal growl, I lean around him and spot the big problem that’s about to blow up in our face, Mr and Mrs Argent are sitting outside another room, a room I’m gonna guess holds Allison, and didn’t the report mention a broken arm?

 

Maybe we can back out of this and run before the big Hunter vs Werewolf thing breaks out in the hospital corridor.

 

“HALE!” Uh-oh that’s Chris Argent and he’s standing up now and turning to us, his scary wife is glaring at us and if looks could kill we’d be road kill right now.

 

Aw crap.


	23. Chapter 23

Not wanting to paint the ceilings red in any ensuing battle I step around the two known werewolves and put myself between the Argents and the Hales.  I have no interest in getting shot any time soon and I put on a concerned look, “Mr Argent, Mrs Argent, I heard Allison was hurt too, do you have any news?”

 

That should divert them from the werewolves, Mr Argent is very over protective of his daughter, and it makes him lower the whole threat rating, “They’re waiting for her to wake up, the surgery to realign the bones was minor and went smoothly.”

 

Dramatically breathing out I nod, “Thanks, with everything going on no one will tell me how everyone is.  I heard Erika was here too?  And please can you tell me about Scott?”  I step closer and closer to them, Mr Argent relaxes and while both Hunters are keeping an eye on the two Hales they’re no longer close to attacking them.

 

“The girl will be released today, she’s just bruised, and Scott’s with your dad right now giving a statement,” Chris’ face twists like he’s bitten into a lemon.  “They survived, they’ll live,” and that should be a hopeful statement but I’m old enough to know that surviving and living are two separate things.

 

“Thank you,” I tell him and then grimace as the air pushes Lydia’s scent towards me and I remember that we have to tell my dad about Jackson.  “I’m sorry about your sister,” Chris’ head jerks up and he’s back to his death glare, “Dude I’m the son of a Sheriff I know that family usually has no clue about a serial killer in their midst, why would you?  They’re amazingly good at blending in, they have to be or their victims wouldn’t let them near them, it’s one of the many things that makes them so dangerous.”

 

My words make him relax further and he motions to the door next to his wife, “Allison is resting and shouldn’t be disturbed a lot, the doctors chased us out, but if you want to stick your head around the door you can.

 

Mindful of the tension in the corridor I nod gratefully, “Thanks Mr Argent.”  I do go to Allison’s door and I do open it enough to stick my head around, I can see her lying on a hospital bed hooked up to a few machines, but they’re only monitors, there’s nothing into there to help keep her alive like a respirator.

 

Even from the doorway I can hear the heart monitor, that would only let me know the speed of her heart, my ears can pick up her heart beating in her chest and I smile at the strength of it.  Scenting the air as carefully as I can I work to isolate the smell of Allison, there’s no sickness in her, she’s hurt but she’s not sick and I mutter a spell to drive any infections out of her before they can get started, the less her body has to deal with right now the faster she’ll heal.

 

Allison doesn’t stir and I pull back out of her room to close the door with a soft click.  “Thank you,” I tell Mr Argent again and for a second Mrs Argent unthaws enough behind him to give me a gentle nod.

 

“Stiles!” Someone calls out and I twist around to see a bruised version of Erika smiling at me and waving.

 

Waving back at her I’m surprised when she hurries over to me and engulfs me in a hug, “Whoa! Hey Erika, you’re okay too, that’s awesome,” hugging her back I hum and say the same spell under the cover of the hum so she won’t notice.  She smells of hospital and bruises and then suddenly there’s that something I’m learning is arousal and I stiffen in shock.

 

That can’t be because of me can it?

 

“Erika!” And her parents are hurrying around the corner to find her with me, “Oh it’s your friend Stiles,” I get warm smiles and I do my best to ignore the scents wafting from their daughter.

 

“Hey Mr and Mrs Reyes,” I free up one arm to wave at them, “Wow Erika’s free to go today?”

 

Mrs Reyes is smiling and nodding, “Yes, we’re going to keep an eye on her,” she comes right up to us and pats Erika’s messy hair, “She gave us quite the shock but she’s okay,” her voice trembles slightly.

 

“Mom I said I was fine,” is the protest kids always give their folks after they give them a huge shock like that.

 

“I know honey,” And they have a daughter mom moment with Erika still pressed up against me.

 

Awesome.

 

Not.

 

Erika resists going home until I point out that I’ll see her at school on Monday and then she shyly walks away as my heart drops to the floor, how the hell do I let her down without destroying what’s left of her self-esteem?

 

Sighing I sit by Derek and then nearly choke on the rage and jealousy hanging in the air, it’s mingled in with Peter’s and Lydia’s scents and I cough as discreetly as I can.  If anything Derek’s pained expression gets worse and he’s clearly trying not to breathe in at all.  Werewolf or not he’s going to have to breathe soon.

 

Between the bad air and the odd glares being shot towards the werewolves from the Argents I really want this whole hospital visit to be over,  If it wasn’t for Scott I’d try and bail on this, but my bro needs me right now.

 

I can’t hear much from Scott’s room just the beeping of machines and the murmur of dad’s voice and the odd mutter from Scott, it’s enough to calm me but not enough to really make me feel better, I have to be able to see him for myself and to put a spell of cleansing on him too.

 

Fidgeting in my seat I twist and wiggle where I am impatient to get on and do something, anything.  It’s hard to stay still and I just want to scream or yell or howl.

 

“Stiles,” It’s Peter, “Did you take your Adderall today?”

 

“Huh?” Adderall won’t work on me now, I’d metabolise it too quickly.

 

“I’ll take that as a no,” he looks towards the Argents, “Would you like something to drink?  Getting the cups from the vending machine will help Stiles with some of his ADHD in this stressful situation.”

 

Both Argents pin me with a glare and I wither in my seat, shit, what if they guess I’m a werewolf?  I’d be shot and carved up in two in seconds.

 

“Coffee, black no sugar,” Chris breaks the heavy silence and gets jabbed in the ribs by Victoria, “My wife will take her coffee white with three sugars please,” that earns him a death glare from her.

 

Not wanting to hang around I book it from the area and powerwalk to the vending machine.  One coffee for Victoria later and I walk back more slowly trying not to spill any of the scolding hot liquid.  I hand it to her, “Thank you Mrs Argent,” I try for winsome, she doesn’t take the cup, “I know I’m a pain with the ADHD thing and I’m really sorry I didn’t take my meds,” it’s all a lie but she has no way of knowing that.

 

“You’re welcome and thank you for the coffee,” she relents after a cough from Chris, and takes it from me.  Chris is more gracious towards me when I bring him his, and I head back for Lydia’s drink.

 

They don’t have the normal weird shit that she drinks so I go for the closest thing they have and add five sugars, seriously I have no idea why her teeth didn’t drop out from all of the sweet things she’d drink.  Handing it over I get a nod and I know she doesn’t want to drink it because she thinks I got it wrong, she sips it and makes a pleased sound.  Score one for the Stiles.

 

Peter gets a hot chocolate, he won’t have had chocolate for a while and he sniffs it appreciatively before sipping it delicately.  I get Derek a fruit tea, he’s not too keen on coffee and prefers homemade hot chocolate.

 

Nabbing myself a can of lemonade I perch on the chair beside Derek and grin, “Thanks, that actually helped,” and the air is calmer too, while the tension has leaked out of the area.

 

Drinking my lemonade I then clear up after everyone and go to sprawl in my chair, damn I hate hospitals, there’s nothing to do but worry about loved ones and go out of your mind with boredom.

 

The slide of a chair alerts me that there’s movement in Scott’s room and the voices stop murmuring, I daren’t do anything other than fidget slightly and sigh.  I have to fake jumping when the door handle turns and the door clicks.

 

I gaze hopefully and then rush towards my dad coming out of Scott’s room.  I was hoping to get him before he closed the door so I could peek inside but he’s faster than I anticipated, “Dad,” I crow and go for a hug.

 

“Stiles,” he holds me fiercely, “Good to see you up and about son.”


	24. Chapter 24

Other than smelling tired dad seems to be okay, “So you came all this way to see Scott?” He asks me.  “He’s awake right now if you want to spend a few minutes with him.”

 

“I can?” I really want to see him.

 

“Melissa’s with him too, just don’t tired him out, he’s on medication so be nice,” and then dad grins because he’s got the same twisted sense of humour that I do, he just hides it better, “Whatever you do don’t ask about the purple spider doves.”

 

Purple spider doves?

 

I want to go straight to Scott’s side but that wasn’t the only reason we came here and I hesitate, “Dad?  Um, Lydia kinda has some news for you, about the case,” I glance at her and she stands up looking as perfectly put together as normal, and then I can’t help looking at Chris Argent, the guy got screwed over on the family front, he should be able to take them back and get a refund, though I have operated on the assumption he’s adopted and no one knows it, it makes more sense.

 

“Kate?” Chris grits out and that bitten into a lemon look is back.

 

“Yeah,” I shift so I’m not clinging to dad like a little kid, “Man I am really sorry about that,” I’m not sure how to convey how I’m feeling and not sound condescending.

 

“In my job Chris,” Dad steps in, “I’ve found that people aren’t lucky enough to pick their own families, if we could do that a lot of people would be better off.”

 

With that dad makes me go and visit Scott and I have no idea how the corridor thing is going to be resolved, if dad takes Lydia off to get information from her that leaves the Hales vulnerable to the Argents.  It also leaves the Argents vulnerable to Peter’s claws.

 

Stepping into Scott’s room I can see him in the bed with his eyes closed looking better than I dared to hope, he has colour in his face, he’s not drained and pale, well not too much.  Melissa is clinging to one of his hands and she’s worried but also relieved too.

 

“Hey,” I say softly and shut the door behind me, it squeaks loudly, which is odd because it didn’t for dad, damn doors have it out for me.

 

“Hey,” Scott’s voice is weak but he’s smiling at me, “Did your dad get all the purple spider doves out of the room?”

 

Melissa is nodding and trying to tell me yes so I nod too, “Sure did Scotty, they’re gone and you’re gonna be fine,” I send a pleading look towards Melissa.

 

“Yes,” she says and I breathe out, her heart was steady, not a blip in sight, “Luckily Alison was able to kick her aunt’s arm so the bullets grazed Scott instead of hitting him,” she breaks off and the smell of fear floods the room, I hurry over to her and give her a hug, “Thank you Stiles,” she pats my shoulder with her free hand, “So Scott’s going to have some scars, but he’s going to be okay.”

 

“My scars will be the best scars ever,” Scott says dreamily, “I can show them off to girls, and Allison, sweet Allison,” I don’t know if it’s the meds making him like that or the thought of Allison or some combo.

 

“As long as you’re gonna be okay Scott,” I let his mom go and stand by his bed, I reach out and put my hand on his knee to squeeze gently.  I also mutter the spell to cleanse his system and it runs into a budding infection already, right at the bottom of his lungs, he’ll be on medication to keep it at bay but he’s weak there and the spell removes it without any side effects at all.

 

“Fine, I’m fine, I’m fine and fine, totally fine,” and the meds Scott’s on must be really good.  “I love you Stiles, I love you SSSOOO much.”

 

“Love you too Scott,” I tell him and mean it.

 

“Good, you’re the best bro in the world, weird but I love you,” he’s got his goofy silly grin on.

 

“Back at you,” I try and say but he’s asleep before I’ve finished and I panic and look at his mom.  “Is that normal?”

 

“The medication for his pain is strong, but yes it’s normal, he’ll sleep for a few hours before he wakes up again,” she stands up reluctantly and lets go of his hand, “We’ll let him sleep, he’ll tire quickly at the moment.”

 

“Can I just?” I point to him and gentle take his hand in mine.  I’m wearing long sleeves, like normal and I have no idea how to siphon off his pain, closing my own eyes I try and I’m hit with a lump of pain, I grit my teeth and pull as much as I can in just a few seconds.  “Scott, I know you’re asleep but I’m really glad you’re okay buddy, get better and I’ll come visit you soon.”

 

We leave him there and already some of the pain smell is leaving the room, he’ll rest easier, between the lack of infection and the no more pain thing he can get better and get out of here to live his own life again.

 

In the corridor things are back to being tense, Lydia must have told everyone what Jackson said to her and Chris’ head is in his hands and even Victoria is shaken and upset.  Derek is hunched in on himself and while Peter is outwardly upset and rubbing a ‘soothing’ hand on his nephew’s shoulder he’s giving off bucket loads of glee to the point that it’s drowning out everyone else’s negative scents.

 

“Right, I’ll have to bring Jackson in to give a statement,” dad grimaces, “I hate dealing with his father, that man is going to make this so much harder on everyone.  Thank you for telling me Lydia, I know it’s not an easy thing to do, but you made the right choice.”

 

“I’m glad to help Sheriff,” Lydia goes for modest and I don’t ruin her little performance she’s putting on right now, because I know what she really wanted to do was get back at Jackson for hurting her by using me.

 

Teen Lydia might have been smart but she was very self-centred too.

 

“He wasn’t the only boy hanging around outside,” Chris joins in and I think I missed something, “I thought it was harmless at the time, but now,” the Argents share a look.

 

Mrs Argent leans into Chris slightly, “He’s got dark hair, I never saw his eye colour and he was always photographing things, but only at the front of the house, the same side as Allison’s bedroom, he was also never there when Allison was out of the house…”

 

“Wait Matt was taking photos of Allison in her bedroom too?” I blurt out and everyone swings around to stare at me, “Er, I mean I noticed him kinda always being around wherever she is at school and he’s always photographing her, like all the time,” wow you’d have thought Scott would have picked up the boy’s scent considering how often he used to hang out on Allison’s roof.  No wonder Matt worked out Scott was a werewolf so quickly he’d have seen Scott on one of their little hook ups.

 

“Matt Daehler?  The creepy little photographer?” Lydia asks.

 

“Creepy?” Dad’s frowning.

 

“He’s been caught taking photos in the girls locker rooms or trying to get images of us he shouldn’t, I thought he’d stopped following us around as much I didn’t realise he decide that Allison was his new stalking victim,” and Lydia is giving off both upset and relieved scents.

 

“Fine,” dad rubs his face, “I’ll add Matt to my list of things, I’ll talk to his parents first, if that doesn’t work we’ll have to see what we can do.”

 

“Thank you,” Victoria says, she stares at Chris and when he nods her shoulders slump, “Chris and I would like to revise our earlier statements we gave about Kate and some of the whereabouts we alibied her for.”

 

Oh my god, Chris and Victoria are turning on Kate?

 

“We’ll have to do that at the station and I need to make you aware that giving false statements…” Dad starts.

 

“We know,” Chris interrupts him, “Believe me we know, but now you’ve told us what she’s been doing I refuse to help her, there are laws and codes of conduct, she broken as many of them as she can,” the man’s voice turns cold to the point of freezing and being brittle, “I don’t have a sister anymore.”

 

“And,” Mrs Argent’s voice is just as cold and hard as her husband’s, “We know that people will talk, that they’ll hear the name Argent and assume, so we’ll be legally changing our last name too, we’ll no longer be Argents.”

 

Holy mother of god, the only time Hunters do that is when they turn their backs on the other Hunters, the Argents are an old family with strong traditions, it’s unheard of for them to do that, Chris and Victoria just did the equivalent of flipping off the rest of the Hunters.

 

Both Peter and Derek also understand the significance of the act and shock fills the air.  Not one of us protests when dad makes us go home, Lydia volunteers to drive and she chatters to Peter, but she’s subdued too, so we’re fairly quiet and the silence is heavy.


	25. Chapter 25

Lydia doesn’t stick around and vanishes off to go and be moral support for Jackson, the ass who doesn’t deserve her, leaving me alone with Derek and Peter.

 

Neither werewolf says anything to start with as we all sit in the living room, well Peter lounges on his bed, and then the Alpha turns to me, “Stiles do you have enough ingredients to make us lasagne?”

 

“Er, I think so I’ll go check,” I scurry off and try not to be too relieved that Peter isn’t questioning me.  Rummaging I find everything I need, “Yeah it’s all here, you want me to make it for you?”

 

“Please,” is all he says and then the TV flicks on.

 

Narrowing my eyes suspiciously I don’t poke at the sleeping werewolf and instead I make him food, hopefully a full werewolf will be a sleepy, and more importantly, non-questioning werewolf.

 

Serving it up I carry it through so we can eat on our laps and settle in to watch some nature documentary on the giant pacific octopus.  Derek pokes at this food a few times and glares at me, I have no idea why, he likes lasagne, Peter taught me how to cook it the Hale way, and then I choke on my food and try to face palm at the same time.

 

Damn it.

 

Most of the recipes I know how to cook are ones that Peter invented, the only person he ever taught them to was me, shit.  Now it’s my turn to poke at my food and push it around the plate. No wonder both Hales have been acting so weird.

 

Risking a glance at Peter I get to see him smirk at me and wave a fork full of food, “Hmm, I do love lasagne cooked this way Stiles, it’s that extra special something with the spices, don’t you think so too?”

 

Shit.

 

He’s totally on to me and from the way Derek’s lips have twisted so is he.

 

Sighing I eat the rest of my food in relative silence only the smug smells coming off of Peter are a bit much and I’m glad of the excuse to take the plates and vanish into the kitchen.

 

I take my time washing up and putting everything away and wonder if I can sneak up the stairs to my room without the awesome super werewolf hearing giving me away.

 

Heaving a sigh I go to the living room and wonder how I can wiggle out of this, I can’t lie outright, I can however, fudge the truth quite a bit, if I’m careful.

 

“Oh there you are Stiles,” Peter holds a hand out to me and I take it automatically, he tugs me down next to him and we stretch out on the bed.  Tensing I wait for him to say something, to ask me questions, except he cuddles me up against him like we used to when we were hiding out.

 

And then we watch TV.

 

And then I’m allowed to go to bed, on my own, without any questions being asked, not one single solitary question.

 

Confused I stare at my ceiling and worry about what Peter’s long term plan is, I’ve completely derailed his revenge, nothing is going how it should do, Kate is about to be put into prison for a long time, the Argent name is about to be dragged through the mud, and I didn’t plan for any of the extra stuff happening.

 

Tossing and turning it takes me hours to drop off, only to wake when dad tiptoes in, then I sleep a bit better.

 

In the morning Peter is acting concerned over dad and nods when dad tells him all about the case and how it’s going.  Kate is still in solitary.  The ex-Argents are rolling on her and burning their bridges very well.  Scott is doing so well the doctors are cutting back his meds a bit for pain control.  And dad is going to talk to Matt’s parents today.

 

Thank god the kid does not have his own killer lizard at his beck and call this time, I do not want to have to fight another Kanima.  Jackson was bad enough, at least we could ‘cure’ him, the two after him beat the pants off of us, we had to kill their masters and then get them to kill themselves, plus you have to dispose of the body properly or they can come back and it gets unbelievably messy at that point.

 

All day I wait for Peter to corner me, we’re alone, it’s just me, him, and Derek.  This is the perfect opportunity for him and Peter never looks a gift horse in the mouth, instead he borrows my laptop and surfs the net, he always did like electronic gadgets, perhaps I can distract him with those, but my budget as a teen is fairly limited.

 

I’m also worried at how much influence Peter had over me, I was able to fight him off when he tried it in my bedroom but last time he just had to tell me sleep and I did.

 

Lunch is sandwiches and I clean up after them.  Peter is messing around on the internet and Derek is in his gym gear, I have no idea what I’m supposed to do, probably homework.

 

Though if I also do the laundry, because we were gone for almost a week and it’s built up, I could get some of it outside on the washing line and I could touch up a few of my wards out there.  Kate might be in prison along with lots of rouge hunters but there’s no way we got all of them, and they could come for revenge.

 

Happy with my short term plan I get the loads sorted out and do my homework while I wait for the first one to finish.  The day isn’t perfect for drying but it’ll do, it’ll get the worst off and I can shove them in the dryer afterwards.

 

Everything goes like clockwork and I hang the stuff out, then I casually stretch and amble around the yard like I’m a bored teen, as I get close to one of my wards I open myself up to it and the web I’ve spun linking them all together.  It’s still strong, still there, mostly as a warning that will tingle in my head, but underneath are two more spells that I can trigger, one will stun any targets that trespass on my land, the last one will kill one target and stun the rest.  The great thing about having Derek and Peter living here is that they’ll be protected, they’re Pack, family, the wards won’t hurt them.

 

Muttering a recharging spell I commune with my spell and then smile as it gets stronger.  The more I can do that the safer we’ll be.  Turning around to go pick up the laundry basket I used to carry out the wet clothes I freeze in place as I spot both Peter and Derek at the window watching me.

 

Shit.

 

Smiling goofily I wave and act like they didn’t just catch me in the middle of something.  Peter waves back and Derek glares.

 

Grabbing the basket I go back to my homework and wait for the other shoe to drop.

 

It doesn’t happen by the time dad pops in to eat dinner with us, he’s exhausted and Jackson’s parents are on the warpath, luckily not aimed at dad, Lydia and Jackson are back together and at least part of life is normal again.

 

“And then I went to talk to that Matt kid’s parents,” Dad rubs his face, “Jesus, that’s going to be a big nasty mess, they told me that ‘Matty’ would never do such a thing and got the tablet he does all his editing on,” shoving more food in his mouth he sighs with his mouth full, “They found pictures that back up the Argent’s and Lydia’s stories and there’s no way the subjects of those pictures ever knew they were being taken.”

 

“Dad…” I’m not sure what to tell him and he looks so defeated.

 

“Sometimes I really hate my job, I hate that I have to see parents find out that their son is a teenage peeping tom and that he’s taking photos like that,” pushing his plate away dad shakes his head, “Thompson volunteered to look through all the evidence, she’ll compile it all and then we can start charging the kid.  Stiles this was amazing, I never thought you’d end up cooking of all things, but you done good.  I’m so beat I need to sleep, sorry I’ve not been around,” he means it he hated not having time to be with me.

 

Standing up I go and tug him to his feet before wrapping him in a giant hug, he deserves it, “It’s okay dad, you’re keeping us all safe, I’m so proud of you, you’re the best dad ever.”

 

“Thanks,” he hugs back and staggers off to bed.  He’s almost asleep the moment his head hits the pillow, his heartbeat and breathing smooth out and I worry about him overdoing it.

 

“He’ll be fine,” Peter walks up to him and slings an arm around my waist, “He just needs some sleep, he’s strong, and it shows.”  I nod absently and melt into Peter’s side, god he smells amazing with my scent all over him, no wonder the wolves got all weird over scent marking.  “And if he gets sick you can always use one of your spells to help bolster him,” I stiffen in shock and Peter chuckles, “I like you Stiles, unravelling all your mysteries is going to take me a very long time, and I’m going to enjoy every second of it.”

 

He kisses my cheek and his hand on my hip squeezes before he saunters off and goes back to the internet.

 

Seriously my plan was so simple, when the hell did it get so complicated?


	26. Chapter 26

Flying through the house I run for the door, I’m late and I know I’m going to get caught in traffic.  Heading for the door with all the werewolf speed I can muster, I literally smack straight into Peter, the ass has used his Alpha speed to beat me there.

 

Bouncing off of him I land on my butt and stare up at him, “Ah, sorry Stiles, I’m still getting used to it, I wanted to tell you to have a nice day,” he does smell upset so he probably means it.

 

Picking myself up I rub my backside to get rid of any dust, “That’s okay Peter, no harm done, and thanks, I hope you have a nice day t…” I don’t get any further because Peter is kissing me, it’s a closed mouth kiss and incredibly gentle.  I stand there stunned and blink stupidly at him when he pulls back five seconds later.

 

“I’ll see you later Stiles,” and that totally sounds like a promise.

 

“’Kay,” comes out a bit breathy and I go to leave the house my brain still whirling, I mistime the door and hit myself in the face with the edge of it, “Ow,” I rub my nose and wonder when I’ll ever grow out of being clumsy, probably never, some things can be trained away but the general spazzy stuff remains.

 

“You need me to kiss it better?” Peter leans against the wall and those blue eyes are promising a lot more than kissing my face.

 

My stupid teenage body decides this is the moment that it’s going to cause me problems and it’s giving off some very clear signs of arousal that Peter can’t miss, “I’m good,” I tell him and I try to be so good as I surreptitiously rearrange things in my pants and turn to walk straight into the fucking door again, “I think I’m good,” I sigh and escape the house as Peter chuckles behind me.

 

Making it to my car I dash off, under the speed limit, to school and peel into a free parking space.  Running for the door I skid through the school and make it with a second to spare.  I have to fake panting to look like the run winded me.

 

I’m actually looking forward to Chemistry today and I breeze into the classroom knowing that Mr Harris will be in custody giving evidence like a good little accessory to murder, when I notice Mr Harris standing at the board, shit, why the hell is he out and free?

 

“Hello class,” Mr Harris is clearly in a shitty mood and my good mood vanishes, damn it.

 

I’ve done advanced Chemistry and I’m a fairly okay at Alchemy so this class isn’t that hard to do, what is hard is to keep taking his annoying little digs and the way his hand will pat my shoulder.  Now I’m an adult I can see him for the small petty little man that he is.  I used to hate him, but by the time the lesson is over I actually pity him a little, he’s a nothing, a no body, he dates kids in college, he has no friends and while his house is nice it’s not a home.

 

Wow, I finally get what they mean by closure, of facing the demons of your past, teen Stiles didn’t really have the life experiences to be able to handle this man, but I do.

 

“Mr Stilinksi, a word,” and I know what happened last time.

 

“Yes Mr Harris,” I’m not afraid of him, not anymore, he’s a just a lonely pathetic man who ruined his own life and takes it out on others.

 

“You’ll be in detention for the rest of this week,” he tells me dismissively.

 

Oh I am not taking this from him, not this time around, “No Mr Harris, I won’t.  You don’t have a reason to shove me in detention, you’re just pissed because something in your past came back to bite you, dad might not tell me what it is,” okay so dad really did tell me but Adrian doesn’t have to know that, “But if you have something you want to say to my father, the Sheriff, you do it to his face, you don’t pick on his underage son to get back at him,” and for once the teacher has nothing to say, “Oh and the textbook answer for question six is wrong, the answer is silver so the chemical name would be Ag,” and with that I turn on my heel and walk out calmly.

 

I don’t jump for joy or do anything stupid until I’m safely away and sitting in another class, then I grin brightly and hum a bit.

 

“Hey Stiles,” is said to my right and I look over to see Erika sitting there.

 

“Hey Erika, welcome back to school,” I’m so fucking happy at getting one over on Harris that I lean back in my chair and chat to Erika all lesson.  I know all the answers and piss the teacher off a little bit when I get them all right and then it’s lunch.  “Hey do you mind if I sit with you today?” I ask her.

 

“T…t…that’s great,” she stammers and it’s not until we’re sitting down and talking about Batman when I remember she’s got a crush on me and this is not helping me let her down gently.

 

I have no idea how to do this nicely but then lady luck smiles on me and Danny walks in, he’s wearing the tightest freaking t-shirt he owns and the guy bends over right in my line of sight.  I let my eyes glaze over and my fork hover part way to my mouth, I sell the fascinated by Danny’s ass, because come on it’s a great ass, to the max and then snap myself out of it and pretend to avoid Erika’s eyes.

 

The smell of pain and hurt coming from her is bad and maybe I just did that bit wrong and I want to kick myself for hurting her.  “Er, so Catwoman?” I try to distract her.

 

Gamely she smiles at me and then she’s reaching out to hold my hand, “Thank you Stiles, and I just want you to know that if you ever want to talk you can, I’m here for you, and I won’t tell anyone, okay?”

 

“Okay?” I play at being a closeted teen, “And Erika?  Don’t let anyone tell you you’re anything but awesome, okay?”

 

“Okay,” and that seems to smooth the whole thing out.

 

We also hang out for the rest of the school day and I spot Boyd and Isaac occasionally in the distance, I can’t wait until I can get all three of them together, they are all great people and it’s going to be the best.

 

Going home in an awesome mood, after all I’m friends with Erika now, I have a hospital date to go see Scott later, and I have Peter waiting at home for me.  What more could I want?

 

Bounding up the path to the house I let myself in, “Hey, I’m home,” there are only two heartbeats in the house and I all but skip to the living room where Peter is.  Jumping onto the bed, I’m careful not to jostle my laptop that he’s using, I lean into to him and ask, “Did you miss me?”

 

Red eyes and fangs greet me, he snarls and I throw myself backwards already rolling out of the way as he leaps after me, “Peter! Dude, calm down, it’s me Stiles, faithful little Beta, awesome cook, come on,” I try and snap him out of it and he pauses.

 

“Faithful?” Is spat at me, “The blonde bitch’s scent is all over you,” he’s growling under his breath and his claws are coming out too.

 

“Blonde?” I frown and then want to smack myself, “You mean Erika?” He snarls again and I’m taking that as a yes, “Peter, she’s going to be a friend, a good friend, she has awesome taste in comics, and she now thinks I’m gay.”

 

That stops the growling instantly and the claws recede, though the fangs are still there, as are the glowing red eyes, “Are you interested in this Erika as anything other than a friend?”

 

“No,” I’m as calm as I can be with a slightly wolfed out Peter, “I only care about Erika because she’s a friend,” my heart blips and Peter growls, “Oh my god, stop with the growling, please, Peter I’m not in love with her like that, I’m not, I care about her but I’ll never want to be her one and only, her soul mate, she’s an awesome person but she’s not you.”

 

The wolf fades from Peter until he looks like a human male crouched on the floor, “Hmm, you promise?”

 

“I promise,” I nod solemnly and when he sits back on his heels and holds a hand out to me I crawl over to him and I may tackle hug him to the floor, “Seriously Peter I’m not interested in anyone else,” and this isn’t help me fly under his radar but I know I end up being his anchor so maybe this will help ground him in the here and now, and god knows I’m missed him so fucking much.

 

“Okay,” he nods and then his hands run over me like he’s petting me but I know the sneaky son of a bitch is scent marking me and I let him get away with it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Warning: I might not have enough time to update tomorrow, I'll try but I promise nothing, work is evil at the moment


	27. Chapter 27

Humming I park the jeep and jump out.  Scott was awake and I made sure to siphon off more of his pain for him, that means he’s not groggy from pain killers, but he is getting bored, and anxious over Allison.

 

I had to run back and forth between the lovebirds and spout all kinds of romantic shit for them, which freaked out Mr Argent until he realised I was acting like a messenger for Scott, he found it amusing in the end, though Mrs Argent has yet to crack a smile over their relationship.

 

Allison was released around then and that’s when Scott remembered leaving some of his stuff at the vets.  Seriously the guy needs to work on his memory or at least not whack himself around the head anymore, it’s clearly causing him issues.

 

I know how to get inside and where the spare key is so I wander around the side and this brings back some memories, nothing like having Derek almost die on me and try to force me to cut off his arm for him.  Thankfully this little errand will be easy and I stroll into the building and then wince at all the mountain ash built into it.  I noticed it before because of my magic but as a werewolf I really notice it now, Jesus how did Scott and Isaac stand it in here, it presses down on my skin and I ignore it.

 

Alan has wards built into his business too, they’re identical to the ones at home because I learnt them from Alan.  The guy hates to part with his secrets and he may act like a pacifist but never upset the guy, he’s really intense and he impressed Peter, very few people can do that, and Alan wasn’t even trying that hard.

 

Reaching Scott’s locker I spin the combination, because Scott is always so predictable, and there is Scott’s phone charger and spare house key, “Scotty, don’t you ever change bro,” I snag the loot and grin at my friend’s natural idiocy.

 

Closing up the locker I turn to go when I’m suddenly slammed into the wall by an unseen force.  I know this spell and I mutter the counter to it.  I drop to the floor and spin to see Alan standing there looking harmless, “Hey,” I give him a wave, “Scott asked me to pick up some things for him.”

 

“And how is Scott?” Alan asks me acting like it wasn’t probably him who just shoved me across a room.

 

“Recovering,” I go goofy and as Stiles-like as I can manage.  If Peter is dangerous and has already picked up all kinds of shit from me that I don’t want him to, then Alan will pick it up from across the frigging country.  He’s the only one that could potentially derail my plans.

 

“That’s good, please give him my best,” and then the so called vet is flinging dust at me and I automatically hold my breath and step away.  Only the dust nearest to me is glowing slightly and I recognise it as dried and ground Titan blood, and Titans are linked to time, so I’m guessing that he’s testing a theory.

 

We both stare at the glowing dried blood and then he sighs, “Who are you?  And why are you in this time?”

 

I could decide to not answer and just dodge but he was one of my teachers, “I’m Stiles Stilinksi, and I’m here to save them all,” he’s always being mysterious and it’s fun to turn the tables on him.

 

“You’re aware that your meddling will alter the events of this time?” He asks and I nod, because duh, that one is the obvious bit, though I hadn’t counted on things changing the way they have.  “And by meddling everything that was will no longer be?”

 

“Kinda the point,” I rub the back of my neck because he never fails to make me feel like I’m inadequate, because Scott was his favourite not me, and Alan did not take his death well, he had plans for Scott.

 

“And would that have anything to do with Kate Argent’s arrest and how the Hales are now the victims in this story?” And yes I know the guy has some kind of past with the Hales but damn it he could have helped Derek more.

 

“Maybe…” I hedge, “Or it could just be good fortune and karma catching up, our pasts may not define us but sometimes they shape our futures,” and I quoting him directly for that last part, he blinks and I mentally high five myself for getting one over on him.

 

“How old are you?” He asks and he’s relaxing a bit, not much, but a bit.

 

“A lot older than you right now,” I counter and don’t tell him the exact amount, “You know I can’t tell you what would have happened in the future, but any plans you might have had for a certain crooked jawed teen blew up in all our faces, I’d prefer not having to deal with that shit a second time, and I’d like him to live longer than twenty-nine,” that makes Alan’s eyes widen in shock.

 

“Twenty-nine?” And yeah the guy so has things for Scott to do, or did have plans because I am not playing along this time, I know some of what’s coming and I’m going to get ready for them, I’m going to stop them.

 

“Yeah that pesky little werewolf vs hunter thingy, he died a hero saving people if that helps at all, it didn’t then, and I had to fucking sort that shit out and I hate sorting it out.  His son went down the hunter path and refused the Bite when it was offered, blood thirsty little bastard, really took after the Argent side of the family, I hated having to kill him, but it was him or me, and I was trying to prevent him killing hundreds of people too,” and at the time that sent Alan over the edge, seriously never upset the guy, ever, I was a little out of it having just put a bullet in my nephew’s head, not my finest hour.

 

Wincing Alan nods, “Did this teen become an Alpha before he was twenty-nine?”

 

“Yeah, though we nearly all died before it happened, but he made it, then had a massive falling out with a pack of Alphas, then,” I stop and sigh, “It wasn’t good, it really wasn’t good.”

 

And then I’m on the end of one of those looks he used to give Scott, “Oh no, whatever you needed him for do not look at me, nope, I am not being any ones pawn, I’m my own man and this town will not be drenched in blood this time if I have anything to say about it.”

 

“Perhaps,” He gives me the soft smile that means he’s harmless, and this man is anything but harmless, “Don’t forget you’ve altered the events of now, and in doing so you will have to deal with the consequences of them as they turn up, my door is always open Stiles,” he stares down at the dust on the floor, “I’ll vacuum that up, please give my best to Scott.”

 

“Okay,” I escape from him and I don’t relax until I’m back at the hospital, damn, I knew he’d be trouble I just hope he believed me about Scott and backs the fuck off, I’m not risking my bro, he’s going to live out his life and be happy.

 

He’s happy that I ran into his boss and he’s even happier that I got his phone charger, in a few hours he can text Allison and I roll my eyes at him, I let him be self-absorbed, he’s a teenager after all, and he will snap out of it on his own, or I’ll smack him up the back of his head.

 

We talk for a while and he’s surprised over Erika but then nods, “Yeah, she seemed nice, I don’t know why we didn’t hang out with her before now,” and just like that Scott accepts her into our circle of friends.

 

Before the nurses chase me out I touch Scott’s arm and drain more pain from him, “You listen to the nurses, and your mom, and I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

 

“Okay, and thanks Stiles,” he points to his phone, “I was getting kinda bored.”

 

“I could bring you some books,” I tease him, “Call of the Wild, Whitefang,” but he doesn’t get the awesome joke and I pat his arm, “Just get better dude, and thank you for noticing I was missing and trying come to my rescue,” scuffing a shoe I wince, “I’m sorry you got hurt Scott, I’m sorry you ended up in here.”

 

Smiling at me he shakes his head, “Stiles, it’s all good, Allison is back in Beacon Hills, we have Erika as a new friend, I’ll have some awesome scars I can show off, but I do have to tell you these are the only bullets I’m taking for you, ever.”

 

Laughing at him I lean over and hug him gently, “Idiot,” I mutter and he laughs too.

 

Dad’s home when I get in and he wants to hear about Scott too, I make him laugh at the messages I had to give and even Derek’s mouth twitches at some of the stuff those two love birds came out with.

 

“So,” Dad’s acting casual which isn’t good, “Have you see Lydia since she came over to visit you?”  Peter stiffens very slightly at the corner of my eye, “I know you’ve been nuts over her for a while and this is the first time she’s ever talked to you…”

 

“I don’t think it’s going to work out dad,” I twist my hands in my lap, “I may have discussed the dating thing with her, and she may have decided the only way she’d ever date me is if I change everything I am to suit her and not actually be me.”

 

“Stiles,” dad reaches out to grip my shoulder, “Don’t do it, okay son, they have to accept you, they have to love you for you.”

 

“I know and anyway she’s back with that douche Jackson, the guy messes around on her and she still takes him back,” I point to myself, “Nope I am now a free agent, and Beacon Hills had better watch out because I’m prowling again,” my heart blips on the free agent bit but only Derek and Peter would hear that.

 

“Okay son,” Dad clearly wants to say something, and then adds, “Whoever they are, they are going to be very lucky to get you.”

 

“I know,” I admit modestly and Peter snorts softly, “I’m awesome, I just may need to wait for the right person to realise it, after all I have the rest of my life, right?”

 

“Right,” dad agrees and then we settle down to watch a game and I may end up casting glances towards Peter when no one is looking, he catches me and winks so I smile at him, now all I have to do is keep Alan out of this and things will work out great.


	28. Chapter 28

Chris Argent’s fiercest scowl is in place, his blue eyes are like ice and one wrong word from me and this will blow up in my face, this is my big break and I grab it with both hands, “Yes sir, you can totally trust me with this, I won’t let you down.”

 

Allison snorts and rolls her eyes, “Dad, you don’t have to do this, it’s just a broken arm,” she looks like she’d be happy for the ground to swallow her up, and frankly all the kids here in the school parking lot are staring at us a lot.

 

“Good,” Chris ignores his daughter’s protest, “I’m trusting you with her, I’ll be here on time, I expect both of you to be here too,” he even points a finger at me and I nod seriously.

 

Sighing Allison shakes her head and then I deliberately take her school bag off of her and walk her to her locker.  “I can’t believe he did that,” she grumbles.

 

“Hey, parents,” I shrug, “At least he cares enough to do that, and you’re looking at this all wrong.  I just have to keep you company all day and walk you to classes, eat with you, spend time with you and then hand you back to your overprotective bear of a dad,” she glares at me for that.  “Hey I hadn’t finished, this also means I can tell Scott that you’re really okay, you’re back at school,” her face softens at his name, “And I get to hang out with you and Erika which means I have people to talk to all day, it’s a win win all round.”

 

“I hadn’t thought of that,” she admits and I get a peck on the cheek, “Thank you Stiles.”

 

“You’re welcome, and if you ever feel like returning the favour should I ever break a bone, I’m more than happy for you to wait on me hand and foot for like six weeks, okay?” I joke.

 

“Okay,” she agrees and so starts an awesome day at school.

 

Erika and Allison have hit it off really well and are on the way to becoming good friends.  This is great and I steer the girls towards Boyd at lunch, he’ll be the easiest to absorb into our group, Isaac will be harder because of his dad.

 

Pulling Allison’s seat out for her I gently slide it under her and then plonk myself next to Boyd, who pauses with his food halfway up to his mouth stare at me in silence, but then that’s Boyd.

 

It’s a little awkward so I bulldoze over the conversation and throw the odd comment at him, he doesn’t answer, but I wasn’t expecting him too either.  He soon resumes eating and so do the girls, I eat and talk, it’s a life skill I’ve perfected, much to my companions’ annoyance over the years.  By the end of lunch I’ve managed to get Boyd to comment that he likes Green Arrow and Green Lantern, and Erika’s eyes have widened as she mentions Teen Titans and Boyd adds that the original line up was the best, I sense a firm friendship in the offing.

 

I also catch Allison giving me a suspicious look and then she smiles at me and lets Erika and Boyd talk teen superheroes.  As I walk her to class she leans in, “That was nice of you Stiles, I know what it’s like to be the odd one out with no one to talk to, and he seems nice.”

 

“Yeah,” I nod playing along, “I think I’ve just realised how many awesome kids there are at this school, I was so caught up in being me I was a bit blind to them.  You don’t mind do you?” And I really hope she’s cool with it.

 

“No, I’m fine with it,” she flashes the smile she normally reserves for Scott at me, “I’m not used to having friends, I’m never in one place long enough, I really hope whatever plan you have is going to work, Scott has mentioned some of your past plans…”

 

“Plans? Me?” I try and play it off and then have to leave her at her classroom, damn I don’t need her to think I’m scheming.

 

Worrying in class I hurry at the end to meet her and walk her to the next class, she’s happy as Erika is in this class with her, “It’s so nice to have another girl to talk to, she doesn’t care about being popular so we can talk about anything and everything.”

 

“Awesome,” I nod and relax a bit, she thinks I’m being nice, that I’m doing this for a noble cause because I’m like Scott and a nice person, she doesn’t know that in another future I not only shoot her kid in the head I may kill a few more distant members of her crazy family.

 

I swear there’s something in the water in their homes that drives them all cuckoo.

 

Handing her over to her father I get a , “Good job,” from him and an approving nod from her mom, while Allison glares at me and Erika slides into the Argent’s car as she’s going to go with them and do homework and stay for dinner.  I do wave at Boyd and offer to give him a lift home, he stares at me like I’m even crazier and gets on the bus without talking.

 

“Okay Boyd,” I wave him goodbye, “See you tomorrow,” nothing, I get nothing from him, he’s going to be a tough nut to crack.

 

At home I catch up on all my homework and whenever I’m with Peter I find Derek hovering the whole time.  If I didn’t know him better I’d say he was acting like a cock block, except I’m not having sex with Peter and I don’t care if Derek is around when I cuddle.

 

Scott is improving and I keep syphoning off pain for him, I have to use my spells to clear his lungs of budding infections far too many times, but he’s healing, he’s getting better.  He’s bored enough that his mom and the doctors let him use his laptop and he has the wifi password to log on the hospital internet.

 

I’ll be happier when he’s released which should be after this weekend.

 

I can’t believe that things are going so well.  Seriously this is amazing, my plan is working and as upset as I am about Scott I know this will show the ex-Argents that he’s not a werewolf, so he won’t have a gun shoved in his face as he’s told to leave Allison alone.  And now the Argents are changing their name Allison will never become a hunter, she’ll never hunt down people and kill them.  The journalists of the world have taken up the Kate Argent story and are running it everywhere, the Hunters are getting their asses handed to them by the media, the council will have to take note and do something now.

 

All I have to do is avoid Alan and we are home free on this.

 

I’m fairly certain I can get Allison to distract Scott enough that he gives up his work or at least takes a cut in hours, which will give Alan less free time to stir up trouble.

 

Pleased with my life I settle back to enjoy the few pleasures of being a teenager and I hang out with my friends, Boyd is resisting assimilation into the group, but his resistance is futile and then I crack up at my own joke and Allison pats me on the back.

 

Strolling out of school on Friday I happily labour under the negligible weight of Allison’s stuff as we make plans for this weekend, she wants to spend as much time with Scott as she can, Erika wants to go to the comic book store and I’m happy to do both as long as I have time to spend with my dad too.

 

My phone beeps at the same time as Allison’s and Erika’s, it’s Chris, he’s having car trouble and has asked if I can take Allison to mine until he can come pick her up.

 

“Urgh,” Allison frowns, “I can stay at home by myself, I’m not useless,” her dad’s attitude is getting on her nerves.

 

“Ask if you can stay at mine,” Erika suggests, “You said you’d help me braid my hair,” with Allison’s help Erika has been adding some kind of stuff to her hair and it’s smoothing down and getting less frizzy, “And mom said she’d be making homemade pizza tonight.”

 

That makes Allison nod and she starts to text her dad, I don’t mind driving them to Erika’s.  I’d angle for an invite but dad’s going to be home early tonight and I’m cooking pasta for my pack and family.

 

Congregating near my jeep we wait for the reply, I’m fairly sure that Chris is going to say no, Erika’s dad is a sweetheart not a trained cop.  We crane our necks over Allison’s shoulder and watch the screen like that’s going to speed along the answer.

 

“Allison,” A male voice from behind us says and for some reason my blood runs cold, there’s something about it, something that scares me.

 

All three of us turn as one and I freeze when I spot him, shit I thought Gerard would be caught up in the hunter stuff going on, I didn’t expect him to come to Beacon Hills, I’ve been careful to hide Peter’s status as an Alpha, there are no more animal attacks, there’s no reason for Gerard to come hunting an Alpha to Bite him in this area, he should believe there’s only two Betas turned Omegas living here.

 

Crap.


	29. Chapter 29

“Hello,” Allison says openly and sweetly, because that is Allison as she is now, she’s not learnt to be wary of strangers, or her family.

 

“Sweetheart you’re hurt,” and Gerard is a past master of looking absolutely harmless and like a sweet old man who only has your best interests at heart.

 

“I’m fine,” and to my surprise she takes a step back from him, clearly some survival instinct is kicking in for her. “I’m sorry I don’t know who you are and I’m just waiting for my dad to get here.”

 

“Oh I’m sure Chris will be a while, he was always running late when he was a boy,” Gerard’s words have my hackles rising and wondering if he had anything to do with Chris’ car trouble.

 

And I’m witness to that strange female intuition as both Allison and Erika move casually but suddenly they’re both behind me.  “Then Stiles will be happy to let me stay at his,” Allison says calmly, “His dad the Sheriff will be home now,” and there’s her warning to him to back off because she has protection.

 

My admiration of women goes up another notch, and it’s a pretty high bar to start with.

 

Her words also cause Gerard to look at me and my idiot mask is in place, the same mask I’ve been perfecting all my life, I hope it doesn’t slip.  Alan and Peter might be dangerous but they’re hamstrung by what they want, Alan wants Scott so he’ll play nicely to keep Scott, Peter wants revenge on the Argents but he also craves a Pack which gives me a chance to control him.  Gerard wants to live and he has nothing else left to lose, he’ll destroy anyone and anything to get what he wants.

 

“And you would be Stiles?” He doesn’t sound impressed by me and I’m more than happy for him to overlook me.

 

“Yes sir, and my dad really is the Sheriff, do you need any help?” Because I’m just the idiot son who tries to be nice to people, and I really hope he says no and leaves.

 

“Yes,” and my heart sinks, “I’m Allison’s grandpa, I’ve not seen her since she was a little baby, I heard all about these terrible things happening and I just had to come and help my family.”

 

“Grandpa?” Allison says and steps around me to get closer to Gerard, and this is all going to shit on my watch.

 

“Wow I didn’t know Mrs Argent had called her dad,” I deliberately act like I’m assuming he’s Victoria’s dad, “It’s nice to meet you sir,” I step in front of Allison again and hold my hand out like I really am glad to meet him.

 

For a few seconds his own amiable mask slips and then he blinks and it’s back, “Oh no young man,” he shakes my hand, “I’m Chris’ dad. The young scamp is being his normal hard headed self and he’s determined to stand on his own two feet,” his face falls, “And with the dreadful news about Kate, family should come together in these trying times not pull apart,” he’s still very convincing, still very manipulative and there’s no way I’m letting Allison anywhere near him.

 

“Yes sir,” I pull my phone out and dial Chris’ number as quickly as I can, once he hears his dad is here he’ll flip out and hopefully keep her well aware from Gerard, “I’ll let your son know you’re here and then I can give you and Allison a lift…”

 

Another thing I forgot about Gerard is how fucking fast he is.  He might look and act like a harmless geriatric but he’s also been a deadly hunter since he was ten years old.  One second I’m waiting for Chris to pick up his phone and answer me, the next I’m flat on my back staring up at the sky stunned with Gerard glaring down at me.

 

And then I flashback to the basement.

 

To Gerard leaning down over me as he punches me again and again, Erika and Boyd screaming in the background from the electricity, all of us helpless to save any of us.

 

“Stiles,” That’s Erika, she’s kneeling next to me, “Lay still, you banged your head when Mr Argent attacked you,” her voice is hard and I blink in confusion not really understanding what the hell just happened.

 

Why the hell am I on the ground?

 

Allison’s on her phone, I can hear Chris’ voice from the other side and my own dad’s voice, they must be together somewhere, they’re both urging Allison to stay put and stick with the teachers.

 

Teachers?

 

Coach Finstock is by Allison and being his normal crazed self, but in as caring a manner as he can be.  The nurse pushes past him and comes straight to me, “Stiles, can you hear me?” She asks and I blink stupidly at her.  “Somebody had better have called an ambulance,” her voice is deadly and there’s more light as people take a few steps back from me.

 

The moving crowd reveals Boyd standing with his back to me, and I blink a few more times as I realise he’s in front of Gerard who’s doing his best to appear harmless again.  Only Boyd’s stance is different to how mine was, he’s balanced a lot better, this time Gerard won’t be able to sweep Boyd’s feet out from under him so easily.

 

Someone squeezes my hand and I glance over to find it’s Erika, in a role reversal to when she had her fit she’s not taking care of me and this is all wrong, I’m supposed to be taking care of them, I’m a werewolf now I’m not supposed to be knocked out or whatever the hell happened to me.

 

Shit.

 

“Stiles, breathe,” Erika rubs my shoulder, “You’re okay,” except I’m not and my breathing is getting faster and faster, the far too familiar symptoms of an impending panic attack are getting stronger and my mind is starting to flash back to that fucking basement, how it smelt, the feel of the floor under me, the sounds.

 

“Inhaler,” I gasp and hope Erika knows what I mean, she lets me go and I mentally flounder as the wolf rises quickly, I’m under threat and it wants to burst out.  My placebo inhaler is placed in my hand and then Erika helps me take a few puffs from it, and the panic recedes enough for me to think, even as my ears catch the sound of approaching sirens.

 

I just have to hang on long enough and they’ll take me away from here, I can go home and regroup.

 

No one is letting Gerard go anywhere and even though he’s a supposedly sweet old man he broke cover enough that he’s spooked people.  Which is good because I’m kind of a mess right now, in fact I’m shaking too, I’ve not reacted like this to a fight for decades.

 

“STILES!” That’s dad he’s nearly here.

 

“Over here Sheriff Stilinski!” Allison calls out.

 

“ALLISON!” And Chris is here too.

 

“Chris,” Gerard goes into gentle mode but his son is having none of it.

 

“Get away from Allison,” Chris is back into icy mode as he charges in to stand by Allison, “Don’t you ever come near me or my family again.”

 

“Son…” Gerard tries but my dad is here now, in uniform and with two deputies.

 

“Stiles,” and I don’t resist as my dad kneels down and takes my other hand, he looks so worn out and worried, “What happened?”

 

“The man that said he was Allison’s grandpa used his walking stick to take Stiles’ legs out from under him when Stiles said he was going to phone Mr Argent,” Erika says clearly and her voice carries.  “It was like a fight scene from a movie,” she sounds a little awed, “I’ve never seen anyone move like that in real life,” her hand tightens on mine, “Stiles hit his head on the ground and got knocked out for a few seconds.

 

Except I’m a werewolf and knocking me out is much harder to do than if I were human.

 

Just how hard did I hit my head?


	30. Chapter 30

Loaded into the ambulance like a damsel that’s been in distress, I’m powerless to do anything but lay there and fake a head injury.  In the background I can hear Chris yelling at his dad about restraining orders and not being allowed near his family ever.

 

“Chris,” Gerard is using his reasonable voice, “Please we’re family, and I know you can be stubborn and hold a grudge…”

 

“HOLD A GRUDGE!” Uh-oh Chris is losing it big time.

 

“Yes, you know I love you, you’re my son,” That’s what he’s going with?  Chris has kept his distance for years, even calls his own dad Gerard and not dad, and these are not signs that something isn’t right?

 

“You don’t love anyone or anything more than you love yourself,” and that answer is very revealing.

 

“Please as if you would know love when it punches you in the face,” is Gerard’s retort and I shudder because I do remember him punching me over and over again.

 

“Get out,” Chris has fallen back on his deadly ‘I will kill you’ voice, “If you ever try to approach Allison or any of her friends again I will get you thrown in jail, and I am going to get a restraining order,” it goes quiet for a few seconds and then, “Suddenly Kate being a serial killer makes much more sense you crazy son of a bitch.”

 

Wow.

 

The EMT jumps in the ambulance, “Okay we are ready to roll, the ER is expecting you,” and I whimper because I won’t get a chance to find out what happens next.

 

I’m right, I don’t find out what happens next because I’m stuck in the ER faking a head injury when my nose and hearing go nuts for a few seconds, it’s not until then that I realise they were sort of muted, still better than a human’s but not up to speed, must be the bang to the head, though I don’t remember that happening to Scott.  Eventually I’m sent to my own room, a room with two beds a cot set up to one side.  That’s weird.

 

Mrs McCall comes to visit me and then Scott appears too, well a hospital porter pushes him in, in a wheelchair.  “Stiles I know you missed me but really…” He teases me and I show him a particular finger.

 

“Scott, I got my ass handed to me by a geriatric, my head aches,” it doesn’t, “And my manly pride is close to dying,” it is.

 

“Sorry,” he uses his puppy eyes on me, “Mom said they were keeping you for observation.

 

“Awesome, nothing like someone waking me up constantly and asking stupid questions,” and that could go so wrong, I have to try and remember who the freaking President is right now, and what the year is.

 

“You must be feeling better if you’re grumbling,” he settles near my bedside and then precedes to talk to me and keep me awake, not a bad thing to do, the staff here will be less freaked out if I’m awake, if I’m asleep they may think I’m trying to slip into a coma, it won’t be the first time that’s happened to me, and it wasn’t my fault if I hadn’t slept for nearly forty eight hours before it happened, I was really tired and Derek made fun of me for years afterwards.

 

Shit.

 

Peter and Derek.

 

They’re at the house all alone, they don’t know Gerard’s in town, that he’s as dangerous as he is, if he finds out Peter is an Alpha we’re seriously screwed.  “Scott,” I interrupt him waxing lyrical about Allison’s eyes, they’re nice but they aren’t that nice, now Peter’s eyes on the other hand…  “Dude give me the phone, I need to call dad to check on our houseguests, if Kate attacked the Hales I need to make sure that Gerard isn’t as crazy as she is so he won’t continue her thing and try to kill them too.”

 

The cord on the phone is too short and Scott has to make the call for me, I listen to the Deputy say that dad’s already over at our house and that alternative accommodation has been sourced for them.

 

Alternative accommodation?

 

Scott parrots back the words and doesn’t think to ask what accommodation is being found and then it’s too late to ask.  Maybe I can use a bit of magic to whisper to Peter when Scott leaves.

 

Only Scott doesn’t leave, he hangs around for ages, I could try and fake falling asleep but experience has taught me that sleeping and head injuries are a no no.

 

Anxious and jittery I jump when a familiar squeaky noise starts moving closer down my corridor in the hospital, it’s familiar because it’s Peter’s wheelchair.  Unobtrusively I glance at the door of my room and sharpen my ears, their heartbeats are something I’m learning to recognise, especially Peter’s, and they’re nearly here, I flick my eyes to the extra bed and the cot, perhaps this is the place they’ll be staying at?

 

The heartbeats and the squeaky wheelchair stop outside my room and then Peter and Derek are being escorted in by a Deputy.  Derek might be pushing Peter around but he’s also carrying a bag and I’m so fucking glad to see the pair of them.  Both of them smell worried and upset, right up until they see me and then the relief rolls off of them.

 

“I’ll be right outside,” the Deputy says and closes the door behind them.

 

“You’re okay,” I blurt out and grin at my Pack, “I got worried.”

 

“Oh we’re fine thank you Stiles,” Peter says as Derek helps him up onto the other bed, the cot must be for Derek, “But when we heard about you…”

 

“I just banged by head,” I shrug it off.

 

“And he got knocked unconscious,” Scott drops me straight in it so I glare at him, he gives me a confused face, “Allison’s grandpa attacked Stiles after he tried to protect Allison,” and that actually sounds heroic rather than wimpy, I should probably go with that version of the truth.

 

“You were attacked?” Derek is visibly upset and pads over to me to gently touch my head, it’s one of the few times he’s done that voluntarily, and I stay still to let him.  “Are you okay?  Were you hurt anywhere else?”

 

“No,” I reassure him, “I just banged my head, he’s this sweet looking old man,” and I get distracted by Derek’s eyes, I mean I know what colour Allison’s are, because Scott goes on and on about them, and I’ve stared into Peter’s enough times, but Derek’s like to defy all natural laws, right now they’re green with hazel flecks, “And he moved like a ninja, he swept my legs out from under me, I never even saw him move,” Derek’s hand is warm on my face and I press into it a bit, I like being touched and I’ve missed Derek a lot too.

 

“They just told us you were in hospital and it would be safer for us to stay here too,” Derek says, and those are a lot of words, but the tone in them tells me more, he does care about me, or he’s starting to, out little talk about being brothers did mean something to him.

 

“It makes sense,” I point out, “For you to stay here, with me, dad can protect all of us, just in case.”  I can help protect them too, as long as I don’t hit my head, damn I still can’t believe I got knocked out.

 

I get a rare flicker of a smile from Derek and then he’s moving around and unpacking the bag, they thought of everything and even brought me stuff so I don’t have to wear a stupid backless gown tonight.  And then I notice Scott frowning at Derek and smelling upset and freaked out.

 

“Hey Earth to Scott, you okay man?” He’s all out glaring at Derek now and I’m sure he smells protective, except Peter’s amused scent is starting to overpower it.

 

“Yeah, I’m good Stiles, I just want you to know that no matter what I’m here for you man, I’ve got your back, just talk to me before you do anything okay?” And he’s doing the thing with his face that means he’s trying to tell me something but I have no idea what.

 

“Okay?” I agree and we have the most careful bro hug in the history of bro hugs, he has to move slowly and it’s a bit awkward as he won’t let me move my head, but we manage it.  “Love you Scott,” I tell him and squeeze as gently as I can.

 

“Love you too Stiles,” he squeezes back and then a porter is coming to push him back to his room, though Scott takes time out to glare at Derek, “You know Stiles you’re always going on about stories where people are doomed to repeat their pasts, to never learn from their mistakes, I just think you should think about it more.”

 

“Right,” I humour him and then wonder if he knows that I’m future!Stiles or if his little brain is overloading.

 

When he’s gone I share a look with Derek that lets me know he has no idea why Scott took such an instant dislike to him either, though Peter is laughing on his bed, “Oh that was classic, just classic,” he won’t tell us what that’s about because he can’t wait to see our faces when Scott tells us.

 

Sigh I wiggle on the bed, I can’t even blamed Peter’s craziness on that little personality quirk, he’s always been like that.


	31. Chapter 31

Peter also brought my laptop with him and has charmed the password for the wifi out one of the nurses.  He also keep chuckling to himself and looking at me and Derek.  It’s weird and he won’t tell us why.

 

Dad dropped in briefly to check on me and yell at my doctors, he relaxed when he was told my x-rays were normal and I just have to be woken up for the nurses to do observations, he promises we’ll spend time together at the weekend and then he shoots off, he has an appoint with a judge about some restraining orders against Gerard Argent.

 

He shows a mug shot of Gerard to Derek and Peter before he leaves, “Do not approach him, stay away from him, keep your distance, we fingerprinted him and I may have asked a favour from some of the Interpol guys, there’s a partial that got a hit in France,” he grimaces, “Except Gerard Argent has some seriously powerful connections because he’s already out on bail, I’m chasing it down but be careful.”

 

“We will,” Peter says calmly, “And we’ll be sure to keep an eye on Stiles for you too,” I want to protest at that but the relief that rolls off of dad shuts my mouth for me.

 

I make dad promise me he’ll sleep sometime tonight and then I have to watch him leave.

 

It’s boring in the room until lights out and then Peter sneaks over to my bed, that’s new, I normally go to him, “Stiles,” he sprawls out next to me on the bed, “What really happened today?”  And there’s some real concern coming off of him, though there’s more from Derek’s little cot bed.

 

Condensing it down I tell them both everything, and take advantage of Peter being so close for some snuggling, I conclude with, “And I don’t understand how I got knocked out.”

 

“You shouldn’t have,” Derek adds, “Not unless your head split and there was blood,” which only confirms something went wrong.

 

“Is my wolfyness defective?” What if I didn’t turn properly, except I have all the wolf upgrades, nothing is weird, I’ve not gone out slaughtering people like Jackson did.

 

“I doubt it,” Peter’s lazy answer makes me relax, “If it was defective it would have shown up by now, you didn’t notice any black goo like substances did you?”

 

Oh like the stuff Derek spat out when he was shot or Jackson kept having come out of his nose, “No, nothing black and gooey at all,” I relax further.  “So I’m good?”

 

“Yes,” and somehow Peter’s voice catches so many innuendos, it’s a skill he’s managed to perfect.  “Will you let me ‘see’ your memories of the confrontation with Gerard?” And wow Peter wants to do the claw thing on me.

 

“Um,” I’m really not sure, if he were more like my Peter I’d trust him to do that, but this Peter is still crazy, I don’t know if I can trust him, I don’t want him to see anything he shouldn’t.

 

“Please,” he’s being nice, “You smell of fear when you talk about this hunter and I’ve never smelt it on you before, not like this, I need to know so I can protect the Pack, protect all of us,” and either he means it or that’s him showing he’s learnt some of my buttons he can push to get what he wants.

 

“Just those memories?” I clarify and he nods like I can trust him.  “Fine,” I probably shouldn’t do this, this is a dumb risk for little reward, unless being able to trust Peter with something like this is counted as a reward.

 

“Can I share it with Derek?” Peter asks and I nod as I roll over giving him access to my neck.  I close my eyes and think about that particular memory as much as I can, it’s still fresh in my mind and I try not to flinch as his clawed fingers trail over my skin.

 

He doesn’t warn me when he plunges the claws in and I choke back a cry of pain, relieving the memory is even more unpleasant, even though I know it flashed past in seconds and I cling to the bed afterwards and tremble, god I hate doing that.

 

A grunt that sounds like Derek lets me know Peter’s sharing the memory with him and then a nurse is coming to check on me and I hope the blood doesn’t show.  I whisper a spell to cleanse the sheets I’m on in time to blink up at her and answer all of her questions.  She’s pleased with my progress and tiptoes out so as not to wake the other two wide awake werewolves in the room.

 

The door is barely clicked shut behind her before Peter is back over and climbing into the bed with me, his arms are warm and I don’t fight the cuddle action going on.  Derek pads over to sit by my bedside and he’s frowning thoughtfully, “Well that explains why you got knocked unconscious.”

 

“It does?” How does that memory help explain KO that happened?

 

“Yes,” Peter’s arms tighten momentarily, “The dulling of your senses would be a good indication, and if this Gerard is as well trained as he appears to be, he may have gotten himself an artefact like that.”

 

“Like what?” I really want to know.

 

“It’s something the hunter families have, that they pass on to their best and brightest,” Peter goes up on an elbow to look down at me, “Each of these artefacts has a different special ability but they universally dull our senses and they will tell the wearer if there’s a werewolf near them.”

 

Digesting that my eyes widen, “He knows I’m a werewolf?”  Oh that is so not good, me being a known werewolf opens the door to all sorts of questions, like how am I werewolf with no Alpha.

 

“Possibly, the artefact will only tell him one of us was nearby, not who exactly it was,” and Peter’s looking thoughtful now, “Guessing from the fact that you got knocked out I’d have to say the artefact most probably interferes with our healing or durability, either way avoiding him is the best route, at least until your father can remove him,” Peter goes for a dramatic pause, “Or we ambush him when he least expects it and make it look like an accident.”

 

And there’s the psycho peeking out, though it’s very tempting to just kill Gerard off, it would sort a lot of short term problems out, but I need him to tell the other hunters his plan to become a werewolf so he won’t die of cancer, I need them to see him for the hypocritical monster he is.

 

Crap I am so not ready for Gerard, I thought I’d have a month or more to entrench and have a plan already in play to remove him with the greatest shit storm to hit the hunters that I could come up with.  I was more focused on helping Scott avoid his fate and get Kate arrested that I may have neglected a few things.

 

Nosing at my shoulder Peter breathes in deeply and I let him, he liked doing that before, it calmed him down to smell me, and it calms me down now, the familiar routine making me relax in his arms.  The way he smells to me is intoxicating and I know I’m starting to smile goofily, wow I’m shocked Derek didn’t have more werewolves trying to snuggle the shit out of him if this is what he smelt like to them.

 

The contentedness wafting around Peter doesn’t quite drown out Derek’s anger and upsetness, I glance over to find him glaring at Peter and he’s really not happy, “Dude, bro,” I wiggle an arm over to him and pat his bicep, “’Sup?”

 

Those eyes of his are turning mesmerising again as he huffs, “Stiles, I know what it’s like to be a teenage boy, to have those overwhelming urges, but the law has an age limit for a reason, and as happy as I am to see my Uncle awake and to get him back as family, I can’t let him take advantage of you.”

 

What?

 

“Derek,” Peter’s voice is smooth in my ear, “Stiles isn’t underage, are you?” The last bit is said to me and Derek’s fears are totally groundless.

 

Snorting at them I tell Derek, “Duh, I’ve not be a teen for years, it’s kinda weird to be one again…” and I snap out of it.  Twisting in Peter’s embrace I’m the one glaring at him now, “You tricked me.”

 

He just looks smug and pleased with himself.


	32. Chapter 32

Laughing at me Peter ignores my anger, “Oh Stiles, you resourceful little Beta you, I really like you.” He’s not the slightest bit repentant and then he dips his face closer to mine, “And as clever as you’ve been you keep slipping up, so many tiny clues adding up to the enigma that is you.”

 

“What?” Derek is staring at us perplexed, “Stiles is only sixteen, that’s the only age he could be.”

 

“Unless he found a spell he could use to send himself back in time to a nexus point, then he could be much older and have a teenagers body at the same time,” Peter states and I groan because he’s worked it all out, damn it, I was hoping he wouldn’t, except Alan’s already figured it out too and this plan is going south in so many ways.

 

“Time travel?” Derek’s face screws up, “Is that even possible?”

 

“It’s been a theory for centuries,” Peter tells him and I may sulk just a little at getting found out so easily, “It’s just hard to prove and most of the spells are impossible for people to cast, they require more power and energy than most covens possess,” that makes him look down at me, “Just how powerful are you?”

 

I could lie to him, or dodge but being truthful now might save us all later on, “I’m a Spark,” and I get to see his eyes widen in surprise, I’m much more powerful than the average practitioner, but that kind of power takes longer to master, much longer.

 

“How old are you really?” He’s pondering something.

 

“Older than you,” I hedge and dodge the question as much as I can.  He doesn’t need to know that I’m over three times his age, people get funny about that kind of thing.

 

“Why?” Derek has his ‘I’m struggling to process’ look on, “Why would you come back here?”

 

And now we’re into very dodgy territory, most fiction talks about not changing the past, about screwing up time and space, but that’s why I’m here, to change what went wrong, “Would you believe I came back to save you all?”  Because that’s the truth, I didn’t just come back for Scott, I came back for Allison, Erika, Boyd, Isaac, Derek, Peter and that’s just the ones we’ll run into at the moment, Cora’s still out there, the Alpha Pack is coming, and so much more.

 

“Hmm,” Peter languidly lays down next to me and pillows his head on my shoulder, “Well that explains how you knew who to target for the Arson, and why you were wandering around in the forest at the exact moment I’d meet you and Bite you.  And how you know how to cook my recipes,” Peter’s eyes flick up towards my face, “You’ve also been completely focused on me, you’re ignoring the girl you would have had a crush on back then, gathering others you’ve never really spoken to before now, mostly teenagers, those who would be easy to convince to become werewolves, and they’d have the highest chance of surviving the Bite,” I jump slightly and manage not to warn him off, “Only I have two Betas already, I would need a third to stabilise the Pack, though I’m loathe to outsource just yet, I got lucky with you, time travelling Sparks are hard to find,” he makes a joke of it but I don’t smile.

 

“Whatever you do, do not Bite Jackson Whittemore,” I warn him, “And please don’t Bite my future friends, I’d like them to have long happy lives,” I hesitate because I’m sure there are rules about future events and keeping them secret, “There’s someone coming, someone that could join the Pack, a third Beta for you.”

 

“But…” Peter draws the word out.

 

“But we have to get her out from another Pack and she won’t remember everything and she’s gonna be pretty pissed about a lot of stuff, I recommend therapy and fudging her ID as soon as possible,” I can’t tell them anymore, not just yet anyway.

 

“Okay,” and with that Peter accepts what I’ve said, at least outwardly, but then he acted like he accepted everything before and then he ambushed me just now.

 

The sound of a nurse talking to the Deputy outside our room has the pair of them vanishing back to their own beds so I can pretend to be woken up and go through the process of answering her questions.

 

When she leaves I’m left all alone on my bed, though Peter does roll over to stare at me, “Stiles?”

 

“Yeah?” I wonder what he’s going to do now, I don’t know if them knowing the truth about me is a good or bad.

 

“Do you love me?” It’s such a simple question, it took us years to hook up, and years after that to admit how we felt.

 

“Yes,” Is almost ripped from me, “I love you Peter.”

 

He goes silent and for a few minutes I think that’s it, then, “Do you love Derek?”

 

And that is a loaded question, Derek and I have antagonised each other for years, it took dad shaking his head and calling us out on our behaviour to make me understand that Derek was a brother to me, “Yeah, yeah I love Derek too, he’s family.”

 

From across the room is an indrawn breath and I know that is gonna hit him hard, Derek tends to withdraw and get all angsty at the slightest thing, he’s also pigheadedly stubborn and may be why we clash so much.

 

“I don’t love you,” Peter is as blunt as ever and I twitch at the pain his words cause me, I’ve loved him for years, and it hurts when he says that, “I don’t know you.  I’ve only recently woken up, I’m not ready,” but with that he dangles hope in front of me the manipulative fucker.

 

“I can wait,” I tell him and roll over to face him, “I can be patient if I have to be, and you’re certainly worth the wait.”

 

His mouth curves up, “The scars don’t bother you?”

 

“Nope, they’re just a part of you,” and while I’m not used to him with the scars they really don’t bother me at all.  “I love you Peter, they’re just part of the wrapping paper, decorative, nothing more.”

 

“What’s your favourite colour?” And he’s going down this route is he?

 

“Blue like your eyes,” I know it’s corny, “I could stare into them for hours and not get bored,” and I have in the past.  “Your favourite colour before the fire was green because you said your wife looked amazing in it,” his breath catches now, “After it was red like the rage you felt, like the blood you wanted to spill, and when you proposed to me on the Eiffel Tower you told me it was now brown like my eyes, and by the way,” I wag a finger at him, “You totally beat me to the punch man, I had the whole proposal thing worked out for when we got back to the hotel,” I laugh at the memory and then stop when he gives me a quizzical look.

 

“We went to France?”  He sounds fascinated.

 

“Yeah, we went to France, and lots of other places, some of them at high speed as we ran away from big scary things, or made a getaway after stealing stuff we needed to save the world,” I remember so many places with Peter.

 

“You saved the world?” Derek’s voice reminds me he’s in the room with us.

 

“Yeah a bunch of times, I hoping this time around we won’t have to, it gets boring after the third time,” my offhand comment makes Peter give a startled laugh.  “I really want a quieter life this time around.”

 

“Isn’t quiet dull?” Peter rolls back so he’s no longer looking at me.

 

“With you around?” I snort, “Oh man it’s never boring, trust me on that, I just want more time between the screaming and the racing the clock to save everything and everyone.  Lazy Sunday mornings.  Group cook outs.  Enforced treks into the wilderness and sleeping in tents.  Being dragged to clothes sales to stand there and hold all the clothes you just have to try on because they’ve slashed the prices and knowing you’ll try everything on and then steal the designs to make your own things.  Trailing after Derek in used book shops and watching him melt into gooey puddles because he found the book he was after.”

 

God I’ve missed all of that.

 

“When you put it like that,” Peter rolls over to stare at me again, “That’s something I could learn to enjoy.”

 

“Good,” I pull my sheets up around me, “I’ve missed you and I’ll give you space, but I’ll warn you now, be prepared to be wooed Stilinski style,” I waggle my eyebrows at him, “As a teen I spent years hopelessly chasing Lydia, but I know I stand a chance with you, and you are so going down Hale, you don’t stand a chance.”

 

For a second his eyes gleam red and then he grins at me, “I believe the correct response is ‘Bring it’”, and we both laugh, he’s not ready yet but we both know he will be one day and I already have my foot in the door, this is going to be fun.

 

The heavy sigh from Derek doesn’t spoil the moment, because what would be the fun of chasing Peter if I didn’t get to wind Derek up too?

 

Now I’m more hopeful, they know the truth, I don’t have to hide all of it from them, they’ll be on their guard against Gerard and we might actually get out of this intact.


	33. Chapter 33

With the doctors happy at my progress I just have to wait for them to get papers ready for dad to sign and then I am free of this place.  Meanwhile I pass the time playing cards with Derek.

 

I always wondered how he won when we played for money, I knew about the hearing and the smelling thing but I never realised how much I give away when I look at my cards, no wonder the dick knew to fold right before my big hand came in.

 

Bastard.

 

This time we’re playing one of my battle card games and Derek keeps glancing at the rules and then nodding to himself as he smells pleased, that’s not a good sign and I worriedly check mine again.

 

Neither of us look over at the bathroom door where Peter is currently being bathed, somewhat against his will, by two nurses.  He didn’t put up much of a fight but he did mutter under his breathe a lot and he still is, I’ll be glad when we can get him home and he can do that for himself.

 

Putting down one of my cards I grin at Derek and watch as I slice into his life points, he grunts and puts a card down to defend them from my attacks but he subtracts the points and asks, “Really time travel?”

 

“Really time travel,” I pull a card I really really want and grimace when I give off happy scents, “It doesn’t work like people think it does, you can’t go anywhere in time, only to certain nexus points, places in space and time where something significant happens, and you can only go to times you’re alive.  I can’t go back and look at dinosaurs,” which is annoying because dinosaurs.

 

Nodding at that Derek places a card of his own and I wince because he’s just healed the damage I did.  “So why don’t more people do it?”

 

Gambling on a combo I place the first card down, “Because it takes ridiculous amounts of power and the ingredients you need to make the circles is stupidly hard to get a hold of, it took us three decades just to get enough of the right type of crystals to crush down for the protective circle, there was no way I was doing it without them, I did not want to come through like a human pretzel.”

 

Derek consults the rules again and then lays down a card that’s part of a combo, a powerful combo, and I am so screwed at this point in the game, “So we helped you come back?”

 

“Yeah you did, you tried talking me out of it, but you had my back,” and he did, strangely enough he always has.

 

“What’s my favourite colour?” He asks and we stare at the cards and keep battling.

 

“I used to think it was black, or monochrome because you were allergic to wearing colour, but then I found out you hate shopping and just mass buy whatever’s closest to hand, and you told me your favourite colour is purple because your mom had a gazebo and covered it in wisteria, purple wisteria, you’d sit out and play in the gazebo for hours,” I place my next combo card down and hope to god Derek doesn’t have all the cards he needs.

 

He puts his next combo down too, “How badly did it go last time that you went to all that effort to come back?” It’s askes quietly but calmly.

 

“On a scale of one to apocalypse, it goes off the charts into unmeasurable amounts of bad,” I admit to him, “I can’t tell you all the details but what we all did then, and yes I count myself in that, meant that we didn’t work together later on, and the problems just snowballed, I’m hoping to stop them now, to remove them or lessen them, something that means we don’t have to go through that shit again.”

 

We play quietly for a while and the sounds in the bathrooms indicate that Peter’s ordeal is nearly over when Derek asks, “These nexus points, are there a lot of them?”

 

Shrugging I try to explain, “Most people don’t have any in their lives, others like you and me, we have lots, I have five of them in total.”

 

“Why did you pick this nexus point?” He lays out the last of his combo cards and I sigh as I deduct the huge number of life points he’s just taken off of me.

 

“Because this is the first nexus point for me,” I scan my cards for a miracle to save me.

 

“What about me?” His voice is even but his heartbeat is jumping around the place, “What if I came back in time…”

 

Oh.

 

Looking up at him I shake my head, “Derek.  I’m sorry but your first nexus point happens after mine,” at the Hale house when he slit Peter’s throat and became the Alpha, he could chose other paths but that one set in motion all sort of things.

 

His eyes are wide, “But… Kate…” And my heart breaks just a little for him.

 

“The choice to murder your family was hers, not yours, if there is a nexus point, then it’s her nexus point,” and his face shuts down, “Dude these points are seriously rare, mine is a dumb decision to go out into the woods to look for half a body, at the time I didn’t know about Laura, about werewolves, and my decision set in motion a lot of crap, this time I’ll own it and make it work.”

 

We go back to card playing and he wipes me out, damn it I’ve not played this game in years, it’s similar enough to others that I kept confusing myself, but then Peter is free and back to laying on his bed.

 

“And my nexus points?” He asks proving he was listening the whole time.

 

“You only have two that I know of,” there could be more but I believed him when he told me about them.  “The first is after mine but before Derek’s, you chose to set up a spell that uses the Worm Moon,” he thinks about it and then his eyes widen as he smells of shock, he knows that he died and came back now, “The only other one you had was when you chose to save me and nearly died in my place, we started dating after that.”

 

And finally dad is here to take us home.

 

I’m not allowed to go visit Scott, I have to ‘rest’ at home, and I’m going to teach Derek the fine art of Xbox, he proved adept at video games in the past, he should be able to do them now.  Peter complains he has a headache and that he’s tired so we’re shooed out of the living room and have to go play in my room.

 

I might end up kicking Derek’s virtual butt most of the time but I’m also aware of Peter tossing and turning on his bed, he’s wide awake the whole time and I just know he’s plotting something.

 

“Stiles,” he says softly and I pause the game, which is annoying because I was about to beat Derek again.

 

“Yeah?” I say just as softly.

 

“I want fish tonight, do you have any?”

 

I pad down the stairs and raid the freezer, luckily we do have some fish, it’s not really enough for four of us but Peter is happy so I leave it to defrost on the counter.

 

At dinner Peter thanks me for dinner but is really subdued, but then so is Derek, my bro smells of pain and guilt, so he’s still probably beating himself up over the Kate thing, Peter just smells troubled and slightly sulky.

 

Confined to the house for the weekend I can’t wait for Monday, the two werewolves are being all Hale like and brooding with their man pain.  I feel like telling them to suck it up, but it’s best they face it and handle it now so it can’t fester, whatever it is.

 

I make sure to compliment Peter and use outrageous chat up lines that are so cheesy they make him huff little laughs.  I count every one of them as a victory.

 

Derek gets one armed hugs off of me and he stiffens every single time, eventually he won’t and I try to let him know I’m here for him, but it’s Derek so sometimes it’s hard to tell if he believes me.

 

And dad is still handling the restraining order, that should be ready on Monday, it won’t stop Gerard, he’s way too much of an evil son of a bitch to let a little thing like the law get in his way, but it will make people take notice of him, and it should link him to Kate, and it will paint the hunters in more of a bad light.  At this point any and all bad publicity for them is a good thing for us.


	34. Chapter 34

Monday gets here and I’m not looking forward to the ride to school, Chris is picking me up, he’s dropping me and Allison off, while dad’s picking us up after school.

 

Allison is not taking the restrictions well.

 

I’m happy to be chauffeured around, it makes a change from all the times I’ve had to drive in the past.  Plus Chris and dad will be a deterrent to Gerard, and I’m really good with that.

 

At school Allison barely says goodbye to her dad and I watch her march off to meet up with Erika and Boyd.  Turning to Chris I clear my throat, “Mr Argent, I’m really sorry I wasn’t able to protect Allison from your dad,” those sharp blue eyes hold mine, “I promise to do better if anything happens.”

 

He nods at me, “I wouldn’t expect you to be able to protect her from Gerard, he’s dangerous, very dangerous, if anything does happen, don’t do anything except run away from him,” he pats my shoulder, “And you did more than you realise, Allison will be protected by a restraining order, he can’t approach her in public, it won’t stop him, but it will slow him down.”

 

Unfortunately I agree with him about the restraining order not stopping Gerard, “But for how long?” And I really want to know the answer to that.

 

“I honestly don’t know,” he admits and frowns, “He won’t give up, he’s here for a reason…” He trails off thoughtfully, “Don’t be late for school Stiles.”

 

“No sir,” I amble off towards Allison and co and spend all day being pampered by Allison and Erika.  Even Boyd pats my shoulder for me and hangs out with us.

 

Dad does pick us up after school and I ride in the back, behind the bars, won’t be the first time for me.  He tells us the restraining order is in place and Gerard has been informed so he should keep his distance.

 

I walk Allison to her door and pass her to her mom, then I amble back to dad and sit in the front.

 

“How do you feel about Chinese?” He asks and he eases the cruiser onto the road and heads to our favourite take out place.

 

“Sounds good dad, just don’t have anything too fatty,” I warn him and he rolls his eyes at me.  “So, how long until Gerard breaks the restraining order?”

 

He sighs, “I’ve been digging into that man’s past and what I didn’t find there scares me,” he pulls over and turns towards me, “Stiles, if he ever comes at you, or anyone, you phone it straight in and you run, you run as fast as you can, you don’t stick around to do something manly and stupid, do you understand?”

 

He’s serious so I make myself serious, “Yes sir, Mr Argent said the same thing this morning,” his eyes widen, “It’s bad isn’t it.”

 

“It could be, I hope it won’t be,” he hedges and starts driving again.

 

“What didn’t you find?” I ask and when he doesn’t answer but his hands tighten on the steering wheel I use what I know is a low blow, “Dad, if he comes after me or Allison, I need to have a vague idea of what I’m up against.”

 

“Fine,” he grits that out, “It goes no further though.”

 

Scoffing I cross my arms, “You know I don’t talk about actual case work dad, even Scott doesn’t get told any of it, come on, I’ve helped you with some bad stuff before.”

 

“That was petty stuff, that was small time, this man, he’s not small time,” Dad glances over at me, and he smells afraid, “The FBI, Interpol, hell even the frigging CIA and other overseas agency people, they all have files on him, on Kate, but strangely not Chris.  Files that go nowhere, where people go missing in the night, but there’s nothing to link them together, like the victims are random, the only thing in common is that they do go missing, or in Kate’s case their homes burn to the ground.”

 

Hunting. 

 

Dad’s talking about Gerard and Kate hunting werewolves.

 

And I know Gerard’s here hunting down an Alpha, he knows that that Hales are werewolves, if he fails at getting his family and the hunters on his side he’ll still come for Peter and Derek on his own.

 

“So he’s really good at covering his tracks then,” I mutter and dad parks outside the Chinese.

 

“Very good, damn near impossible to catch good,” dad sounds depressed, “If there’s such thing as the perfect murder,” and I know there is because I did it, “Then this man is the man to do it, thank god he has cancer,” and I swing my head round to stare at him, “Sorry Stiles, I would never wish that on anyone, but this man, if it gets him out of the way, then I’m glad he’s got it, that it’s terminal, that it’s so damn aggressive, because that will remove him as a problem.”

 

And just like that dad hands me a solution of sorts, well at least so I can let the principle players know some vital information, “Dad, you realise that what you just described is a man with nothing left to lose, and a rapidly ticking clock…”

 

I let him think that over and he curses, “Crap, damn it, I was so happy to think he would be gone soon, shit,” he starts the cruiser again, “Sorry Stiles, no Chinese, I’ll drop you at home, wait for a Deputy to come sit outside and I’ll phone the Argents, sorry the Bowman, that’s going to take time to get used to,” and the Argents changed their name to Bowman? I really want to faceplam right now.  “We have a time frame now, and it’s narrowing rapidly, I need to talk to some people.”

 

“Okay dad,” I sit quietly and try not distract him as he puts his foot down on the gas, he’s not going over the speed limit by much, but he is breaking the law and he rarely does that without a good reason.

 

I get shooed into the house and dad explains it all to Peter and Derek, and then he starts organising for someone to sit outside out house and he talks to the Bowmans on the phone.

 

“Bowman?” Derek looks like he wants to facepalm too.

 

“Yep,” I wince, “Not the most subtle thing they’ve ever done.”  To keep myself busy I cook dinner and force a sandwich on dad as he walks out of the door, “Stay safe,” I tell him and I wave as he drives off.

 

Sitting at the dinner table we start eating when Peter says, “We need to have some kind of plan ready.  If Gerard is dying of cancer then he does have a very strict time limit on his hands, hopefully he’ll make mistakes, but we need to know his ultimate end game.  Stiles, do you know what he wants?”

 

Playing with my peas I push them around then sigh, it’s no use hiding it from him, “He wants the Bite, it’s the only cure he’s got left, but he’ll set it up so he can kill the Alpha afterwards, if he’s going to be a werewolf, he wants to rule.”

 

“An Argent wants the Bite?” Is all Derek says and he blinks several times like he can’t comprehend it.  “They’re taught to hate all werewolves, that it’s better to suicide than turn.”

 

Chewing his chicken Peter tilts his head thinking, “Hmm, when faced with death, especially a slow lingering death, our most firmly held beliefs can easily be discarded.  Is this why you want to hide my status as Alpha?” He asks of me.

 

“Yeah, if there’s no Alpha here he can’t attack and hurt any of us, it’s a waste of his time,” I tell them, “And I really don’t want to face him again, he’s an evil old man and I want him dead and out of all our lives.”

 

“You also missed something,” Peter points out, “If there’s no Alpha here, then he’ll simply go elsewhere to get what he wants, and then he’ll come back to get revenge on his son,” not that Peter sounds upset about the Bowmans having revenge exacted on them.  “And then we’ll have a very dangerous Alpha werewolf on our hands, I’m sure none of us want that.”

 

“Crap,” I swear and wonder if just killing Gerard would be the best road to go now.

 

Suddenly Peter’s head jerks up, “We have company, out the back, in the woods, their footsteps sound like hunters after prey.”

 

Oh god please don’t let it be Gerard.


	35. Chapter 35

“Stiles,” Peter’s staring at the wall of the dining room and he has his head cocked to one side listening, “Do be a good boy and go put that that delightful suit of yours on underneath your clothes.”

 

“Er…” I blink at him and then at Derek, he looks as lost as I feel right now.

 

“Stiles,” Those blue eyes turn to me, “I can only guess you made yourself something protective, please put it on, if they attack, one of us might make it out of here alive.”

 

“I… Peter,” God I cannot lose him, not now, I have another lifetime to live with him.  And Derek, Jesus he can’t die either not yet.  Pushing down my worries and concerns I walk to my room and drag my armour out.  Changing in the bathroom, because I do not put it past the hunters to be spying on my room, I put my clothes back on and over the armour.

 

Padding downstairs we go back to eating.  Well Peter and I do.  Derek pushes his food around and doesn’t look like he’ll be able to eat it.  “You should try and eat,” I tell him, “We don’t know when,” or if, “We’ll get another meal.”

 

Glaring at me his eyes turn electric blue, “Well excuse me for not being used to this,” he scoops up some peas and munches on them.

 

Completely unaffected, at least outwardly, Peter continues to eat and acts like nothing is wrong, I keep trying to tune my ears but I can’t hear anything, whoever they are they’re staying well back from Beta hearing range and away from my wards.

 

Occasionally Peter tilts his head and stops eating for a few second, “That’s interesting, I believe that’s Chris Argent, sorry, Bowman’s voice.  He’s telling them to stay quiet and wait for Stiles to go to bed, he’s upset and one of his men just questioned him about ‘talking’ to us later, the man seems to want to kill us, while Chris is talking about the Code,” Snorting he cuts his meat up, “As if any hunters care about the Code.”

 

“Chris does,” I point out, “He’s one of the few hunters that does, he’s even gone against other hunters if the Code calls for it.”

 

That earns me a red eyed glare and some fangs before Peter pulls himself together, “We’ll see.”

 

The rest of the dinner is tense and Derek leaves most of his food, Peter takes Derek’s plate and finishes it with that annoying insufferable calmness that he does most things, at least outside of the bedroom.  Dragging my wayward thoughts back I sit and do homework in the living room while Peter messes around my laptop and Derek tries and fails to read a book.  I end up taking pity on him and let him beat me at Monopoly, I may fudge some of my dice rolls, nothing too obvious, and he wipes me off the board.

 

I’m made to go bed but before I do I place an illusion spell on Peter, they’re not easy for me to do, but I concentrate on his eyes, if they change colour to red the spell will kick in and turn them electric blue instead.  “I can only hide your eyes,” I tell him, “If you go Alpha form the game is up, they’ll know you’re not a Beta.”

 

He’s touching his face and walks over to a mirror to test the spell out, it works perfectly, “If I ‘go Alpha form’ then something’s gone very wrong Stiles and we’ll be burying their bodies tonight,” he lets his eyes fade back to human.  “If they call us out to talk, which is the most sensible option for them, you will sneak out and come at them from behind, be very wary of traps, I really don’t want them to know you’re there unless I deem it necessary.”

 

And this is where Derek failed for the first few years, he was terrible at planning and giving orders, I ended up sending him on management courses in the hope something would click, I know he got there in the end but he floundered a lot too.

 

“We do not attack them,” Peter is still telling us our game plan, “Unless they attack us first, in which case we kill them quickly, we can’t afford to let them get away or have the neighbours become suspicious.  Derek will play the dumb but pretty muscle, I’ll play the recovering coma victim, and Stiles will stay out of sight.”

 

“Is this a good idea?” Derek asks and he smells nervous, upset, and he’s right walking out into the dark to talk to hunters is a bit insane.

 

“No, but they’re here, they want to talk, and we have several advantages they currently know nothing about, I’d like to keep it that way, and this is an excellent chance to sound out the opposition,” I roll my eyes behind Peter’s back, he always was over confident.

 

“How many of them are there?” I ask because if this plan goes to shit I’ll have to step in.

 

“Four, including Chris,” he saunters over to me, “Don’t worry so much Stiles, it’s just a talk,” he strokes his fingers down my face, “I’m not going to throw my life away, I’ve been given a second chance and I intend to live it to the fullest,” my cheek tingles when he steps away and I sigh giving in to the manipulative bastard like he wants me to.

 

“Fine but if I die I’m not talking to you,” I know it’s a dumb thing to say but he grins at my humour and I go through the motions of going to bed, though I keep my armour on and instead of sleeping I meditate.

 

An hour after my light is turned off something brushes against my wards, I whisper my warning to the two werewolves below and then Chris’ voice is just loud enough for me to hear, “Peter and Derek Hale.  This is Chris Bowman, I used to be Chris Argent.  We need to talk about Gerard.  I have two hunters here with me,” except Peter said there was another one, “And a man that used to work for Gerard, we’ll be a hundred yards further back waiting for you,” and that could so be taken as a threat.

 

“Stiles, you have a five minute head start,” Peter says clearly, “We’ll see you out there, be careful.”

 

Slipping out the front of the house I wrap the shadows around me and ease across the gardens of our neighbours before swinging around and loping to the back of our house.  I use a spell to scan for traps, it’s not fool proof and I don’t hurry.  I come at the hunters from behind and there are indeed four of them.

 

Chris is grumbling, “Damn it, take your hands away from your weapons, don’t give them an excuse to attack, we do this by the Code, if they attack we can too, if not, we talk and part ways.”

 

“I don’t like this, they’re werewolves,” one of the guys hisses, he’s to Chris’s right so I move onto a tree branch handily placed above his head.

 

“Yes, they’re such monsters they burn houses down with innocent children in them,” Chris snarks back clearly making reference to his own sister, “I’m aware of what they are, I’ve hunted them for longer than you have, if they turn rogue I will have no qualms about shooting them in the head, until them we wait,” under his breath he mutters, “Hopefully they won’t turn rabid yet.”

 

In the distance Peter and Derek are making a slow cumbersome progress towards us.  Peter’s hanging onto Derek and is allowing his nephew to half carry, half drag him to this meeting.  He really is playing the part of a coma patient who can’t walk unassisted at the moment. It also makes him look weak and helpless, something he’s very good at acting like until he rips you apart.

 

If I didn’t know that Peter’s fully healed, at least physically I’d be seriously worried about him right now, he’s not up to fighting fitness and frankly coming at someone head on isn’t Peter’s MO anyway.

 

“Jesus,” the guy who’d been complaining and wanting to kill us hisses, “I knew he’d been in a coma, but fuck,” and his hands ease completely away from his weapons as he falls for Peter’s ruse.

 

The two werewolves come to a halt and Derek looks up at them, “You wanted to talk,” he’s fallen back on his default angry and brooding persona.

 

“Now, now Derek,” Peter chides him and sounds slightly out of breath, “They were nice enough to ask, they didn’t burn the house down around us,” and that is a dig that makes Chris’ heart blip slightly.  “Christopher, may I call you Christopher?” Peter doesn’t wait for him to answer, “Can we please get this over with? I’d like to go and lay down soon,” and he’s leaning on Derek in a way that shows he’s not in any shape to be a threat to anyone.

 

“Of course Peter,” Chris’ voice is tight, “As pleasant as it is tonight I’d like to get home too.”

 

“Then pray continue,” And while they’re both being polite you could cut glass with the tone of their words.


	36. Chapter 36

They settle into a kind of impasse and then Chris sighs, “I’m sure the Sheriff has already told you that Gerard has cancer, it’s terminal and aggressive, whatever it is that he wants, it’s here in Beacon Hills and he doesn’t have a lot of time left,” and wow Chris is playing ball and getting straight to the point.

 

“No offense to your family Christopher,” Peter twists in Derek’s grip to stare straight at Chris, “But I don’t see what the fuss is about this man, his old now, he’s dying, slowly, and hopefully, painfully.  And as much as I love my home town there’s nothing here for him.”

 

The man to Chris’ left shifts and glances at him, “Sir?”

 

Scrubbing at his face Chris’ shoulders sag, “Go ahead and tell him, they need to know, Gerard is going to come for Derek, and he has to be ready.”

 

Derek?  Why would Gerard come for Derek?

 

The man fidgets and then says, “I used to work for Gerard, but he was getting stranger than normal, and now he’s crossed the line.  He runs his unit tight and hard.  When he was diagnosed he shut us all out and then he came and sent us out to gather intel on all the stable werewolf packs we knew about, whether or not they’d broken the Code.  We thought he was just double checking everything, making sure things would be safe when he passed on.  Then he spent weeks pouring over the reports and he seemed upset and sent us out to check the contested and unstable packs, he wanted us to focus on the packs that had just gotten a new Alpha,” he was hunting for an Alpha to Bite him.

 

“And then the news about Kate hit, he was angrier than I’ve ever seen him until he read the article about Laura Hale’s body,” the man is even more nervous now, “He left quickly after that and told us not to follow him.”

 

“But here you stand,” Peter says calmly, you have to know him to know he’s mocking the man.

 

“He had a delivery come for him, the medicine he was taking for his cancer, we were just going to send it on to him, only it was ripped so we looked inside and it’s not for his cancer, it’s a type of wolfsbane, very rare and we destroy it any time we find it, it’s a special one that only flowers in the moonlight,” I have no idea why this is significant, but Peter’s heart stops and then thunders as his fear starts to flood the night air.

 

Jerking his head up Peter stares at Chris, “You think Derek’s the Alpha?  No offence to my nephew but he’d make a terrible Alpha,” swinging his gaze around to Derek, Peter says, “Derek please show them your eyes.”

 

Being a good little Beta, because Derek is really good at following orders, it was a bit of a liability when he was Alpha but right now he doesn’t question it and his eyes glow blue.

 

“He’s not the Alpha, shit,” Chris curses and the men mutter unhappily, “Peter it can’t be you, you’re not healing fast enough to be the Alpha.”

 

“It’s not me,” He lies convincingly and then uses the spell to make his own eyes glow blue and if anything the hunters are even more upset.

 

“Who is it then?” Chris demands, “Who is the Alpha? We need to know so we can protect them from Gerard, he won’t stop until he’s gotten what he wants, until he gets the Bite to heal his cancer.”

 

And Chris knows what his dad wants?  How does he know?

 

“You don’t understand how dangerous he is,” Chris is clearly upset and afraid, in fact he smells very afraid, “He will use anything and everything to get what he wants.”

 

Acting put upon Peter asks, “And why should there be an Alpha?”

 

“Because Kate was attacked by it,” Chris is normally really contained and focused, but now he’s starting to pace, “My sister is many things, a homicidal maniac being one of them, but she knows an Alpha when she sees one, she shot it on the night she came back to Beacon Hills,” Actually she shot Derek.  “There was a Beta there too, it took the special bullets and vanished into the night,” And that was me getting the cure for Derek.  “The Alpha must have absorbed the power when Kate murdered Laura.”

 

At least Chris has fallen for the breadcrumbs of evidence I’ve left, if he believes it then people will be less likely to question the truth.

 

“So who do you think the Alpha is?” Peter asks curiously, “I knew it wasn’t Derek the moment I laid eyes on him, and anyway if a human kills an Alpha werewolf the power isn’t passed onto them.”

 

“No, but it would pass onto the nearest werewolf, which I thought was Derek, but if it’s not him and it’s not you, and there’s another Beta running around the place, then it stands to reason this new Alpha gained the power from Laura’s murder and became an Alpha,” on the whole Chris’ logic isn’t that flawed, and if he’s thinking it then Gerard might be thinking it too, which is a good thing, he’ll be so busy trying to find an Alpha that doesn’t exist he won’t find Peter and we’ll be safe.

 

“As you’ve already eliminated us as candidates,” Peter says calmly, “I don’t see how this is now our problem, an Omega must have been passing through, became the Alpha and probably left town after getting shot by a hunter,” grimacing Peter wobbles a bit and Derek has to take more of his weight, “Speaking from experience I can say that taking on renegade hunters isn’t something that promotes a long life, anyone sane would have run.”

 

Well that seems to wrap that up, except Chris has gone stock still, “No, they wouldn’t have, the bullet Kate shot the Alpha with, they were special, even an Alpha wouldn’t have been able to shake them off, without the bullets the Beta stole, they’d have died, maybe they’d have lasted a few more days than a Beta,” he spins and stares at Peter, “What are you hiding? Or more accurately who are you hiding?”

 

Whoa, I forgot the bastard is damn good at reading people.

 

“Christopher, I’m barely able to stand, Derek is spending time caring for me, exactly what or who are we supposed to be hiding?” Going for sarcasm Peter goes for a type of truth,

 

“The Alpha, you know who the Alpha is,” and I have no idea what the hell gave Chris that idea.

 

“Really?” Peter’s voice drips is scorn, “I’ve been in a coma for years, and Derek’s only just come back to Beacon Hills to then get blindsided by the murder of his sister, who was his Alpha, and you think we magically know who the Alpha is?”  His eyes glow blue, “No wonder you didn’t know what your sister had been up to if this is your normal level of observational skills.”

 

For a few seconds I think Chris has gone for it and then he smiles, “Yes, I do think you know who the Alpha is.  Both of you were born this way, and you’re right, you’ve just lost your Alpha through murder, but here you both are, calm, unaffected by the moon, and neither of you are Omegas, you’re Betas, so that means you have a Pack, an Alpha,” the gasps from the men would be amusing if this all wasn’t going to shit, damn it Chris is too good at his job sometimes.

 

Under his breath Peter hisses, “Stiles, change of plan, use the spell to turn your own eyes red and then fall out of the tree you’re in, be a dumb clumsy idiot, be an Alpha who’ll never be a threat to them,” and how is this a good idea? I have no interest in putting crosshairs on my back, I know what hunters are like.  “Do it, let them think you were Bitten by the Alpha they think took over after Laura,” which is technically the truth, “And then became Alpha yourself when that one died of the bullet you pulled out of Derek’s arm.”

 

Derek has no poker face at all and his normal grumpy expression is locked firmly in place, only Chris is taking that as an admission of guilt and is asking again who the Alpha is.

 

Seriously all I had to do was come back and save people, how the hell did it get so damn complicated? And I’m sure there’s an easier way to get out of this but we’re running out of time and we do need Chris’ help, or at least to keep him from helping Gerard.

 

Uttering the spell I concentrate on my eyes, Peter’s spell should last a bit longer, I hope he doesn’t use it too much.  I let myself fall out of the tree and face plant on the ground near the trigger happy hunter.

 

Flailing for all I’m worth, and I’m good at flailing, I stumble to my feet and let my eyes glow under my hood, the hunters must have seen the red because they go absolutely still and stare at me in shock, I point to the ground and say, “I meant to do that,” brushing myself off I walk towards Peter and Derek as if this was the plan the whole time.

 

God I hope Peter knows what he’s doing.

 

Spotting a handy tree root I trip and fall again.

 

Proving why he’s a good hunter Chris blurts out, “Stiles?"


	37. Chapter 37

“Er, no?” I try to act cagey and I even go as far as twiddling my fingers, “Nope totally not me, I mean Stiles…”

 

“Stiles, I know it’s you,” and the mask he wears when he hunts slips over Chris’ face.

 

“Damn it,” I swear and deliberately take the armoured mask off of my face, I widen my eyes and try to look as young as I possibly can, “You weren’t supposed to find out,” I turn my voice whiney, “Peter said if we kept quiet no one would know, that I could be a teenager, and everyone would think the Alpha left Beacon Hills,” see I can improv too.

 

“Stiles,” Chris sounds angry.

 

“Yes Mr Argent?” I’m not completely meek as I answer him, but I’m not a grumpy twenty something either, I never thought that really helped Derek in the slightest, but then Chris did threaten to shoot Scott if he touched his daughter, so maybe it was just the werewolf thing that he never liked.

 

“You’re the Alpha?” He manages to imbue a lot of disbelief into that sentence, I’m a little offended by that, I could be an Alpha now if I wanted, but it is way too much hassle.

 

“Um?” I scuff my foot on the leaves, “Do I have to answer that?  Because I really don’t want to get into trouble over it.”  I think that’s how a teenager would answer it, dodging and whining a bit.

 

Sighing Chris looks like he can’t believe this is his life, and I know the feeling, “Do you have any control over your abilities?  How far along are you on the scenting and hunting?  Have you managed to track and kill something easy like a deer? Did you prefer the taste after chasing it?”

 

There’s no way I’m telling them how good, or bad, I am at being a werewolf, he’s a hunter first and foremost so I flail my arms again, “Whoa! Stop!” And surprisingly he does, “You want to know if I killed and ate Bambi’s mom?”  I put as much horror and shock in as I can and then spin to yell at the Hales, “You never said I had to kill Bambi’s mom!  Oh my god, what kind of monster kills Bambi’s mom?”

 

I’m expecting Peter to jump in but instead Derek sighs, “No you idiot, that’s what the butchers shops are for.  Some werewolves like running around and hunting down their dinner,” Derek doesn’t sound like he’s a big fan of that, and I know he isn’t, he prefers to get his food via take outs.  “The rest of us buy meat like everyone else.”

 

“Oh thank god,” I put a hand to my chest and then pause, “I don’t have to run around naked at the full moon either, right?”

 

“No,” Peter does jump in now, “You can wear clothes, just make sure they’re baggy enough to take the Beta form, remember you’ll bulk up a bit,” I take the time to poke at one of my arm muscles.

 

“He’s really the Alpha?” The trigger happy hunter is far from happy and his hands are far away from his weapons, like he doesn’t believe I’m a threat, which is good, at least for me right now.

 

Pointing at my eyes I let them glow and then I stomp off towards Derek and Peter.  Folding my arms I lean against Derek’s other side, and he glares down at me, I stare up, well it’s only an inch or so but still it’s up and I jerk away from him, “Okay, Jeez Derek, I’m totally your Alpha, I should be able to lean if I want to…” I then go into a sulk and shove my hands in my pockets.

 

“He’s really the Alpha,” Peter confirms and I wait for my next cue.

 

Seemingly making up his mind Chris nods, “We’ll sell the story of the unknown Beta becoming Alpha, Gerard will be so busy hunting for him that Stiles will, hopefully, slip under his radar.”

 

The man who told us about Gerard’s little delivery of wolfsbane frowns, “Will that be enough to dissuade him?  He’ll have made the Derek connection too, he might still come after the Hales.”

 

“It won’t do him any good,” Chris says, “As long as it’s only Derek or Peter that are forced to Bite him he won’t turn.  We have to keep him from discovering that Stiles is a werewolf, and that Stiles is the Alpha.  If we can keep Stiles and Gerard apart we can outwait Gerard.  If he’s not taking his medicine the cancer will progress a lot faster, so his window of opportunity is rapidly closing.”

 

Butting in I point out, “But that will only make him more desperate, right?  I mean he’s going to die soon, so he has to get Bitten soon, what if he just leaves Beacon Hills and finds another Alpha to Bite him?”

 

“He won’t,” Chris is firm about that, “He’s lost too much face in the hunter community already, what with Kate and then me, he’s trying to stir up support here in Beacon Hills, he’s already invested time and effort, if he cut and runs now,” he spreads his hands, “He’ll have wasted too much time and I know him well enough to know the manipulative son of bitch won’t do that, if he can’t get the Bite he’ll go down and take as many people with him as he can.”

 

And that is a frightening thought, Gerard is more than capable of doing a lot of damage, he’s sneaky and underhanded enough to plan for almost anything.

 

“So we keep Stiles hidden,” Peter muses, “And allow Gerard to tire himself chasing a ghost, we watch him, and as long as he doesn’t break from that behaviour we’re safe.  If he breaks and starts something, anything, different from his routine we may have no choice but to strike at him first, unless you would prefer another route?”

 

Touching his gun Chris frowns, “I’d prefer to remove him now, he might have tipped his hand a few times already but he’s far from finished.  I won’t be able to get approval from the other hunters though, he’s got too contacts for them to let me execute him, especially now I’ve left.  They’ll want a solid reason first and I’ll never be able to persuade them that he wants the Bite, not in time to do any good, it’s ingrained in us to die rather than turn.”

 

“It’s a pity he isn’t like Kate,” the tale spinning hunter says, “If that kind of shit exploded in his face we could get the Council to call him in, he’d be blocked from getting anywhere near the Alpha,” I get a nod sent toward me.

 

“So if people like the FBI and CIA were interested in him, that would be a good thing?” I ask as my mind whirls, “’Coz dad says there’s all kinds of things different people have been trying to pin on him, but he’s covered his tracks too well.”  Everyone is staring at me, “Well that’s what he said in the car, he said there were too many missing people, but nothing to connect them to Gerard or Kate.”

 

“Nothing the police could use,” Chris says slowly, “But hunters look at things differently, they see evidence differently, perhaps that could at least slow him down more, if he’s up against the Council, no matter how far removed they are, that would chip away at any support he could rustle up.”

 

“Then happy hunting,” Peter even smiles at Chris, “We wish you luck and we’ll be leaving now, Stiles has school in the morning, and I have some more of that wonderful physiotherapy to endure.”

 

“Hmm,” the hunter glares at me, “So he does, I look forward to driving him to school tomorrow,” oh shit he is totally my chauffeur.

 

“Yay?” I do a half-hearted fist pump.

 

“Oh just one thing Stiles,” Chris stalks towards us and even leans in close to me, which puts him well within striking distance of the other two werewolves, “If my daughter is ever Bitten, or clawed, or harmed, by you, I swear that you will die a very slow horrible death, I’ll take my time and you’ll beg for death long before it comes.  And don’t get too used to her being around, I’ll keep her close to protect her from Gerard, but after that I’ll send her somewhere safe, somewhere far away from werewolves.”

 

It’s an impressive threat, hunters are very imaginative when it comes to hurting werewolves, so I deliberately smile, “Dude, I’m glad you’re taking her safety seriously, I don’t want her mixed up with this, she’s too nice and sweet.  Plus there’s Scott and his family to think about too, Jesus they’d be mincemeat, can you imagine what Gerard could do to them?”  Impulsively I hug him and all three of the hunters behind him have their hands on their weapons, “I am so glad we’re doing a superhero team up, we can defeat the bad guy and go back to our lives.”

 

Releasing him, he didn’t hug back, which is just bad manners, because I give awesome hugs, I wave my hands, “Should we come up with a secret handshake?  What about code words?”  All of the hunters and the Hales are staring at me with stupefied expressions, “What? I totally saw it on TV.”

 

“Stiles,” Derek snaps at me, “Shut up.”

 

“But…” I try for puppy eyes, it’s never worked for me before, it doesn’t work now.

 

“Stiles,” it’s more of a bark from Derek this time.

 

“Shutting up,” I grumble but all the hunters have relaxed again and that’s their cue to leave as Derek and I manhandle Peter back to the house, where he collapses on his bed laughing.

 

“Did you see their faces?  Oh Stiles you were magnificent, absolutely magnificent,” I preen under his praise, “And Derek you were perfect too.  Now they believe our Pack consists of an underage idiot for an Alpha, a partially crippled Beta, and a somewhat surly but dumb Beta.”

 

“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” I can’t help smiling at Peter, I like making him laugh.

 

Breaking into our moment Derek clears his throat, “And what happens if Gerard comes for any of us,” it kills the mood instantly.

 

“We run,” Peter says simply, “None of us stick around to fight him, we leave him to the hunters,” he snarls that word, “We let them take him down and we slip under all their radars.  It’s just a matter of time until they can get evidence against Gerard, and when they do we sit back and let them take all the risks.”

 

That’s actually a good plan, except Gerard will be hunting for the Alpha, and now it’s a matter of time and luck until one side or the other gets there first.  It should be our side, we have more resources, but I’ll strengthen our wards anyway and I’ll try and make a charm to hide Peter’s true eye colour, as long as he doesn’t take it off he’ll be able to hide as a Beta.  Which will back up our plan to throw an unknown Beta under the bus.


	38. Chapter 38

Nervously I eye the front door and wince when Chris honks his horn again, damn it, I do not want to ride in the car with a hunter who knows I’m a werewolf.

 

“Son you’re going to be late!” Dad calls from the kitchen and I contemplate running anywhere that’s not here.

 

Sighing I open the front door and go to my doom with a dumb smile on my face, “Sorry I’m late,” I apologise as I slide into the back seat, “I lost a school book and couldn’t find it,” I don’t think Chris falls for my lie.

 

The ride to school is as awkward as I thought it would be, except it’s not me being upset and angry it’s Allison, something big must have happened for her to be giving her dad the silent treatment, she ignores all of his overtures and then we’re pulling up at the school and I’ve never been so glad to see the place in my life.

 

“Thanks for the ride Mr Argent, dad has pick up duty so we’ll get to yours at the normal time,” All I get is a tight nod from him and silence from Allison.  Almost falling out of the car I right myself and gently close the car door behind me.

 

“Hmph,” Allison stalks off with her nose in the air and I scramble to keep up with her, or at least act like I am.

 

“So things were pretty tense in the car,” I try as my opening gambit.

 

She snorts and keeps walking.

 

“You wanna talk about it?” I ask and walk beside her, “Or are you just gonna show the school your awesome powerwalking ability?  Because I have to say that’s pretty damn impressive, and I may have to give up walking next to you as I’m not longer on the lacrosse team and I’m nowhere near as fit as I was, not that I’m saying I’m not fit as in hot, because seriously who wouldn’t want me? I am like totally fit that way,” I wave at a girl I know despises me and get a glare, “Um except maybe her.”

 

My rambling has the desired effect and Allison stops in her tracks, “Oh Stiles,” and then she hugs me and I hug back, because that’s what you do.  “My mom wants me to go to a special girl’s school in France, dad doesn’t want me to go there but to a girl’s school in New York.  They’re fighting over it and I don’t want to go to either school I want to stay here,” She buries her face in my neck and sort of clings so I rub her back gently, “I finally have friends, I’m not just an outsider that everyone laughs at, I’m happy here Stiles, and they want to send me away just because my dad’s dad is suddenly a bad guy and I don’t understand any of it.”

 

I’m not sure what to say to her, I know why they want to send her away, because of the werewolves, werewolves like me.  “I’m sorry Allison,” I know that this is just a brief moment in her life, that going to either school really isn’t that long, but I can take the long view because I’ve lived this all before, I know High School is just a transitioning phase.  “Maybe things will quieten down and they’ll let you stay.”

 

“Maybe,” she mumbles and we have to hurry into the school or risk being late.

 

Walking into the school I still have my arm around Allison as we head towards Boyd and Erika.  Boyd has a resigned expression on his face and I grin at him, “Dude, I told you resistance was futile,” I’m startled when he does the Vulcan hand sign and I can’t help laughing because even though he’s acting annoyed he smells happy.

 

Erika has her hair up in some complicated thing Allison taught her to do and it lets you see her eyes and that bright beaming smile of hers.  I might not like how the supernatural side of things are going but this side is just awesome right now.  Scott will in back soon, he’ll be slow and achy but he’ll be here and then he and Allison can do the gazing into each other’s eyes and everything is almost like it should be.

 

Wandering to class I sit near Boyd and his mouth tips up slightly, I’m careful not to annoy him too much and we walk out together.

 

Congratulating myself on a job well done I amble past Isaac and nearly gag at the smell of pain and blood coming off of him, his background scents are panic, fear, vomit and piss.  Oh crap his dad must have done something to him recently, the complete asshole.

 

Trying not to be too obvious I go to my next class and brood as I stare at Isaac out of the corner of my eye.  He must notice something because he glances at me now and again, I make sure to be looking somewhere else at that point, and when the teacher asks me to answer a question I get it right and pull it back to what she said earlier thereby proving I was paying complete attention. 

 

I was going to latch onto Isaac at a gym class and somehow rip his sports stuff off his back so that Coach could see his torso, Coach is an idiot but he won’t allow anything like domestic violence go on under his nose, that coupled with Isaac’s hospital admissions and the file I know the nurse is building on him will get him taken away from his dad.

 

Only gym isn’t today and Isaac smells really bad, he’s in a lot of pain right now, the blood clinging to him is just under his skin, and if he smells of vomit and piss he was probably locked in the freezer last night.

 

I have to do something and I’m not sure how to do it quickly without hurting Isaac.

 

By lunch I can see Isaac is pale and his hands are shaking slightly, he’s moving slower and he’s pretty much reached the end of whatever strength he’s got left.  Shit.  I have to step in somehow.

 

Boyd and I loiter outside the canteen waiting for the girls as Isaac passes us and goes to stand in line, “Lahey?” Boyd asks and lifts an eyebrow at me.

 

“Who’s Lahey?” Allison steps up to us.

 

“You mean Isaac?” Erika frowns and turns to stare him, “What about him?”

 

“Stiles,” Boyd nods to me, “Has been staring at him a lot, I’m guessing he’s next on the list to be assimilated.”

 

“What?” I blink they weren’t supposed to notice anything.

 

“Come on,” He takes the lead and I trail along behind wondering what else I’ve inadvertently given away to people.

 

We get lunch and then Boyd takes us over to where Isaac is sitting hunched and trying to look small, which considering his height is a bit difficult.  We literally surround the poor guy and if I hadn’t of known him as a werewolf I wouldn’t recognise this broken scared little rabbit.  My wolf brushes under my skin, it sees Isaac as weak, where I see him as hurt and needing time to heal, it subsides but I’m aware of it watching and waiting behind my eyes.

 

I natter on and talk about everything and nothing, the girls steer my conversation where they want it and then Boyd drops hints with single words as well, while Isaac says nothing and picks at his food trying to be invisible.

 

Pushing away his uneaten food he stands up and I get more waves of pain from him, he’s not good, he needs help, proper professional help.  He walks slowly away from us and heads towards the tray area.

 

“I got this,” Boyd murmurs and heads after Isaac.

 

“Oh my god,” I say and head after them, if Boyd slams into Isaac then he’ll hurt the guy further, I have to stop him making things worse.  Stumbling as I leave my seat I power walk over to see Boyd do the worst fake trip ever so that his left over food smears all down Isaac’s back.

 

Isaac freezes and I don’t know how Boyd did it but the tray and Boyd avoid Isaac completely.  “Dude,” Boyd reaches out, “Man I am so sorry, here let me have your shirt I’ll get my mom to clean if for you.”  He doesn’t give Isaac any time to react because that shirt gets whipped off of Isaac right there in the middle of the canteen.

 

Suddenly all those in jokes Boyd’s wife used to make about lightning and speed are making much more sense and I’m not sure how I’m supposed to look the guy in the eyes again.

 

Around the room are a widening ripple of gasps, Isaac is a walking bruise and there are clear lines where he’s been hit with something like a belt.  Now, while I’m standing next to the centre of attention, my wolf rolls inside of me, it understands what I was trying to tell it, that Isaac needs our protection and its already imagining ripping the ex-swimming coach into tiny little pieces.

 

Struggling to keep the wolf under wraps I’m glad that Allison is taking charge and calling for a nurse.  I do get to see Boyd strip his shirt off and offer it to Isaac while showing off his own annoyingly perfect physique, guess I can’t blame all of it on the werewolf thing.


	39. Chapter 39

The good side about everyone knowing about Isaac is that he’s now in hospital being ‘treated’ for the injuries his dad inflicted on him.

 

The bad side is that I’m stuck at school with Allison waiting for Mr Argent to come pick us up, because Dad is over at the Lahey house as the Deputies have found the freezer and Mr Lahey’s future is no longer rosy and bright.

 

Considering we’ve uncovered a terrible crime of abuse, no one seems that surprised, and looking back at my own memories I wasn’t either, Isaac had a few too many bruises for them to be innocent, but no one did anything about them either.

 

It’s sad to think that as long as it doesn’t impact on us we’re fine to let it slide.

 

Sighing I fidget in my seat and wonder how long Chris is going to be.  He was probably off doing secret hunter business of evil, I’m sure he’ll be annoyed at having to come and pick us up.

 

I’m not expecting Allison’s hand to pat my knee, “Relax Stiles, I’m sure he’s fine.”

 

“Err? Yeah?” I have no idea who she’s talking about, maybe she means her dad?

 

“Yes, you saw them load him into the ambulance, and you know Scott’s mom is going to be there to take good care of him,” Oh she means Isaac, of course he’s going to be alright, it’s not like being taken care of could be worse than being locked in a freezer.  “And he is kind of cute.”

 

“What?” She never looked at Isaac in the past, she was always focused on Scott, only she’s not smelling like that’s what she means.

 

“Erika and I were talking,” she glances at me out of the corner of her eye, “I just wanted you to know that Scott and I love you no matter what and we’re here for you, okay?”

 

“Okay?” I thought we were talking about Isaac?

 

“And Scott’s right, Isaac is better for you than Derek, after all Isaac is closer to your age, you’ll have more in common…” She trails off and then hugs me as I sit there confused, were teenagers this weird when I was younger?  “And here’s dad.”

 

Yep there’s Chris and he’s scowling at us right up until Allison greets him and acts like their little fight about school is all over.  He melts like a little puddle of goo, Allison so has him wrapped around her little finger.  She tells him about Isaac and then goes on and on about how he’ll join our little group and isn’t great that she finally gets a group of friends and she doesn’t have to be the odd one out and all alone.  She’s spreading it a bit thick and I slide into the back of the car.

 

When he hears about how I noticed Isaac and wanted him to join our group I get a raised eyebrow and I cutting, “Well Stiles, that sounds like quite the little Pack of friends you’re building there.”

 

“I know,” Allison beams at her dad, “This is the first time I’ve ever had friends, now I don’t have to fall back on writing bad poetry or those awful attempts at painting, I can be happy and fulfilled,” yeah she isn’t being subtle and her dad has picked up on the whole subliminal messaging she’s doing such a bad job at.

 

“We’ll talk about this later,” he says grumpily and thank god we’re almost at my house.

 

Escaping from the suffocating atmosphere I all but run to the house and let myself in, only to skid to a halt when I smell someone else is here, it’s Alan Deaton and I go on high alert even as part of me listens to Chris’ car pull away and cruise down the street.

 

“Well I should see myself out,” Alan is saying and I hide my glare behind a smile as he comes out into the hall, he smells annoyed and he’s hiding it too, “Stiles.”

 

“Hey,” I wave goofily, and try not to die of curiosity as I watch him leave.  Instead I wait for his heartbeat to fade into the distance and then I magically scan the house and grounds for anything he might have left behind, it’s clean.  Only then do I relax and go into the living room where Peter is stretched out on his bed, Derek scowling slightly in the corner, like a little brooding thundercloud.

 

Settling down next to Peter I tilt my head and wait for him to tell me why Alan was here.

 

“Hello Stiles, did you have a nice day at school? I heard something came up and your dad was called away, something to do with child abuse?”  Peter stares at me patiently and I grit my teeth at him dodging so well and so easily.

 

Telling them about my day I detail what happened and that Isaac was now free of his dad, nodding Peter rolls over to face me, “Hmm, another of those future things you’re putting right?  Getting him away from his dad early enough to prevent something?”

 

“Maybe?” I hedge because I’m not telling him about Isaac being a werewolf, and a damn good one at that, the speed that he got his anchor, the way he was always willing to help out, “And anyway shouldn’t we be using our super werewolf powers to help people?  I mean I could smell the abuse and pain on him, why shouldn’t I try to help him?”

 

“Because,” Derek starts, “We don’t want people to notice us, and if we’re always the ones that brings these things to people’s attentions then they’ll turn that attention to us.”  It makes sense and I wince, I’m supposed to be staying under the radar and that’s not going to help.  Getting up Derek pads closer to sit at the foot of the bed, “Next time be more careful, try to set it up so it has nothing to do with you.”

 

“I will, thanks Derek,” I move so I can reach out and pat his shoulder, “He smelt of so much pain, and I was afraid he wasn’t going to last the whole day at school, and he has nowhere safe to go to.”

 

“Your dad said he’s going to be okay,” I get a rare upturn of Derek’s lips, “And his dad is going to have the book thrown at him, several times.”

 

“Good,” I grin at that, “I could totally help with the throwing, I need to get my aim in with all this werewolf strength, it would be a good training exercise for me,” and the image of the old swimming coach cowering as I brain him is very satisfying, to the point that my wolf rolls under my skin again.

 

“Stiles?” Peter sits up and I turn to look at him, he’s frowning, “You’ve shifted slightly, do you need help controlling the wolf?”

 

“I’m good,” I shrug it away and twist around on the bed so I’m sitting right next to Peter, “In fact with you here I’m perfect.”

 

I can almost feel Derek rolling his eyes at me as Peter huffs a breath at me, “That isn’t what I meant Stiles and you know it.  You’ve not been a werewolf that long, I can help you with your control if you need me to.”

 

That offer surprises me for some reason, Peter’s still not sane, he’s being remarkably quiet and non-confrontational, last time around he was all for slaughtering his enemies with a newly bitten wolf he was happy to not train, he wanted Scott to go all tooth and claw on any human he could get his hands on, kind of bonding through homicidal moments.

 

“Thanks,” I blurt and stare at him some more, “I’m okay now, I think I just need more practice to control it when I’m angry,” I really hope this is a good sign for Peter’s mental health.  “So what did Alan want?”

 

Both werewolves stiffen and smell angry, faking a smile Peter says, “He was discussing the finer points of Pack and how three Betas are the minimum an Alpha should have to have a stable power base to lean on,” oh my god, I knew he was going to be a problem, “He hinted that there are several teenagers that would actually benefit from the Bite, that they had medical conditions the Bite could help them with.”

 

Scott and Erika.

 

The low warning growl is ripped from me and I don’t bother to hide my rage as I feel my body start to shift to Beta form.  There is no way Peter is being talked into Biting anyone, I didn’t go to all this effort just to have Alan screw it all up.

 

Red eyes meet mine and Peter gives me a genuine smile, “I thought that’s how you’d feel about it so I told him no, after all you said a third Beta would be turning up soon, and strangely you building your little Pack of friends has an additional side benefit to me, they’re acting like my third Beta, after all humans are more than capable of being part of a Pack, even if don’t know they are.”

 

That snaps me out of my rage and I blink at Peter, this is not the same monster that came out of the fire, this is more the came back from the dead Peter.

 

And then he leans forward slowly, like he’s going to kiss me, except he’d never kiss me, he’s not ready yet, and then his lips brush mine, deliberately, gently and I groan because I want more, and I want my Peter so fucking much.

 

He pulls back and says, “I’ll make dinner tonight,” I watch him leave the room all lethal grace and hidden power and touch my tingling lips, the ghost of his kiss haunting me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Seraphim Grace for pointing out an error last chapter, before the bite Boyd was not so sculptured on the body front, I just saw the after werewolf shots and used those, my bad as an author for not researching properly, I hope you all forgive me and pretend that he was sculptured, at least for this story.


	40. Chapter 40

Luckily life calms down after that.

 

We still have the spectre of Gerard hanging over us, but as we’ve already agreed that every day he doesn’t pull something is a day closer to death for him, I’m happy for every day to be free of him.  I know it’s going to blow up in our faces eventually, which is why I’m sitting on my bed making matching pendants for my Pack.

 

I’ve spent all week rustling up the materials I need and I’m finally ready to start.

 

Peter’s cooking again and I try to drag my mind away from thinking about him all the damn time.  We haven’t kissed again but he’s no longer just ignoring my bad pickup lines or laughing at me, he’s starting to flirt back, it’s nothing much, just looks that linger too long that make my heart skip a beat, which around werewolves is like taking out a damn ad in the paper.

 

And I’m doing it again.

 

Damn it.

 

Clearing my mind I go back to the pile of objects on my bed and ignore the way my computer chair creaks as Derek shifts on it.  I’m used to him watching me do this kind of stuff so I can tune him out, well I’m used to my Derek watching, this new one is quieter and broodier, at the moment at least.

 

Picking up the three clear plastic disks I sprinkle tiny amounts of the crushed and powdered turquoise on each of them.  I concentrate on the plastic absorbing the gemstone and I picture the wolf’s head I want the gemstone dust to form as strongly as I can.  In front of my eyes the blue coloured powder sinks into the plastic and forms the shape I see in my head.  I mutter a few words and lock it all in place.

 

The first stage is complete and I roll my shoulders to get rid of any tension.

 

I’d also gone out earlier in the week and gotten my hands on some gold nose studs, while pretending I might want to get my nose pierced, dad has said I can’t have it done until I’m eighteen and by then I’ll have probably decided not to have it done, he’s right I will decide not to get it done, but he’ll have forgotten I bought the studs too.

 

Picking up one of the studs I hold it against one of the disks and chant a protective spell over and over as I imagine a single drop of gold entering the disk and sitting right where the eye of the wolf would be.  This spell is draining and I feel it suck the power out of me, I also feel when it locks in place and I smile in triumph.  God I love making things.

 

Repeating it for the other two disks I now have protective amulets for all three of us, they won’t do anything major, they can’t stop a bullet hitting us, but magic will hit less hard, knives will cut less deep, it’s just that extra something.

 

Yesterday I spent time weaving leather strips into three leather cords and spun avoidance spells at the same time, this way people’s eyes will slide off of them, they’ll be harder to notice.

 

Attaching the disks to their respective cords I just have one last spell to do on them, well on mine and Peter’s.  Picking up the small blue plastic bead, with the handy hole running through the middle, I use what’s left of the nose stud to coat the inside of the bead with gold, and then I bind the disguise spell onto it, this way if Peter’s surprised and his eyes glow they’ll always show as blue, not red, just in case.

 

My bead is red, obviously.

 

Putting my amulet on I close up the clasp and my skin tingles for a second as the protection and disguise spells settle.  Opening my eyes I stare at a fascinated Derek, “What colour do my eyes go?”  And I make them glow, normally they’d be amber, but the spell should step in.

 

“Red, they’re red,” Derek tells me and I grin in triumph, I am seriously good at this.

 

“Awesome, we’ll test Peter’s as well, then I can stop worrying about getting caught out, I’ll fake being an Alpha that’s ineffective and they’ll underestimate us,” I hold Derek’s out to him, “Here, this will help protect you a little.”

 

Typical Derek, he has to turn it over in his hands and even gives it a sniff before he puts it on and does the knot tie up.  “Thank you.”

 

“You’re welcome bro,” I get up slowly, magic does drain the body more than you’d think, I’m glad Peter’s cooking now, otherwise I may have snacked on a sandwich, when I was making my armour I kept food beside me the whole time.

 

“You’re really not a teenager are you,” and his words startle me, I thought he’d accepted me as being from the future.

 

“No I’m really not a teenager, haven’t been for years,” I admit and slowly stretch out my body. 

 

“You look so young,” And this is Derek trying to work it all out in his head, once he gets there he’ll be fine.

 

“Trust me when I say I’m enjoying having a young body again, the aches and pains things is not something I’m looking forward to.  Honestly you kids have no idea how good you’ve got it,” my dad used to say the same thing and I never got it until I was older, he was so right.

 

A flicker of a smile flashes across Derek’s face, “Now you sound old.”

 

I flip him off and his smile gets bigger, almost carefree like I know it can be.

 

From downstairs Peter says, “If you two have finished playing, dinner is ready.”

 

I trot down the stairs to go and eat the very scrumptious beef Peter has been working on, and behind me I hear a thump as Derek jumps all the way down in one go, “Show off,” I grumble and dodge forward as he goes for my back in a mock attack.

 

Slipping into the dining room I all but skip over to Peter who’s watching us with amusement, “Here I made you something,” I show him the amulet and then motion that I want to put it on him, he obliges and I put it around his neck, the familiar tingle of magic letting me know it’s working, “There, now your eyes will stay that pretty blue colour.”

 

“Thank you Stiles,” He goes and checks it in the mirror, “Perfect, you’re quite the Spark.”

 

“Pheff, it was nothing, really,” I wave it away, “I’ve been called magic for all sorts of talents,” I put a bit of innuendo in my voice and leave it at that, though I’m happy that I can help keep them both safe with my magic.

 

“Oh?” Peter’s voice is lower and there’s this something that has me freezing in place at the dinner table, “That’s quite the boast, one day you’ll have to show me.”

 

My jaw drops at him flirting back as my stomach swoops and dips, he winks at me and goes to get our plates of food.

 

We never really did the flirting and getting to know you thing before, after live kept throwing us together it seemed dumb to fake it, we just went full on into a relationship.  This Peter is flirty and playful and I’m stunned when I realise that this time around we get to do the date thing and the flirty thing, and this is going to be fun.

 

Sitting up straight in the chair I watch Peter bring us our food, “Thank you,” I tell him and there are so many jokes I could make right now, none of them appropriate so I bite my lip and keep them inside.  As usual his cooking is divine and I praise him, he’s pleased and we move onto dessert.

 

He’s made a meringue from scratch and I take my time devouring his offering, “Hmm Peter this is amazing,” he always was better at cooking than me, “I love your cooking.”

 

“Thank you Stiles,” he takes a spoonful of desert and licks the bottom of the spoon in a way that makes my blood start to shift south, oh god, I do not have experience at dealing with a flirty Peter, but I am so willing to learn.


	41. Chapter 41

Strolling to answer the door, I pause long enough to discover it’s not a hunter, I swing it open to find Isaac standing there.  “Hey Isaac,” I give him a big dopey grin, “Ready for homework catch up?” I’d volunteered myself to help him catch up on his classes this weekend.

 

“Sure,” He doesn’t sound sure and he smells a bit of fear, the abuse his dad subjected him to will take time to heal.

 

“Okay, well come on it, we have all sorts of sodas and drinks, chips and other really bad for you junk food that I’m hiding from dad, so please feel free to help me eat it all,” is mentioning my dad going to upset him about his dad?  He doesn’t look that upset, he’s looking around the hall and checking out the pictures on the wall.

 

“Um, water’s fine,” he mutters and I lead the way to the kitchen, I make sure to pick out the plastic glasses for us, and when I’ve got some water juice I show him upstairs to my room.

 

His heartbeat speeds up and the smell of fear is thicker on him, I vaguely remember he’s claustrophobic and I leave my door wide open, that seems to do the trick and his body relaxes again.

 

“So… Your dad is out all day today, right?” He asks nervously and I’m glad dad is at the office sorting some things, Isaac might take a while to learn to relax around people’s dads, last time he had Derek, which isn’t saying much but Derek wasn’t a dad and never openly acted like one either, so that must have helped.

 

“Yeah, he’s at the office today, way too much paperwork, again, I swear the damn stuff breeds when you’re not looking.  It’s just us, Derek and Peter in the house.  But Peter’s stolen, sorry I mean ‘borrowed’ my computer again, and Derek’s doing Dereky things, which might mean brooding manfully with his manpain in a corner,” I know damn well they can both hear me and I hear Peter laugh and Derek grunt at my comments.

 

I thought that would make Isaac relax but he tenses up even more and then nods like he’s resigned to some kind of fate.

 

I’ve taught a lot of people in my life and I gear myself up for my newest pupil, I didn’t realise until I got to college the difference the right teacher can make in learning something.  I’ve done training courses and I bring it all to mind as we start on math.

 

It quickly becomes apparent that Isaac doesn’t expect much of himself, that he thinks he’s going to fail this subject, so I back up and break down what we’re doing even further.  A few goes of coaxing through some easy problems, and praising him when he gets them right, gives him some confidence.  When he gets that look on his face that tells me it’s clicked in his head I slowly hold up my hand for a high five.  “Awesome Isaac, that was awesome.”

 

“But it’s easy,” he says a bit stunned, “Now you’ve explained it, it’s so easy.”

 

“Yeah, most math is, you just memorise a formula and use it over and over,” I shrug, “It’s always been easy to me, but then my mom was awesome with numbers and she taught me a lot of it,” I point to the next question, “Come on Isaac, you get this one right and I’ll bribe you with candy.”

 

“What kind of candy?” He asks first and I wave his favourite under his nose, he startles and then says, “Okay, I can totally do this.”

 

“Yep you can,” I encourage him.

 

He wins the candy and munches happily on it as he powers through the rest of his math homework.

 

History and English also fall to him and he’s smelling happier and happier as things progress.  He’s smart and quick to learn so it’s not a huge effort on my part, to the point that I can let my mind drift and I zero in on the clicks of Peter’s fingers on my keyboard, except that makes me think of his fingers elsewhere so I switch to Derek, he’s outside on the back porch doing weights, the familiar and comforting clank of metal calms me down.

 

“You’re good at this,” Isaac startles me and I quirk an eyebrow at him, “Teaching, you’re good at this, you make this all so easy, it makes sense for once.”

 

Shrugging I try to play it off, “It’s my ADHD, it’s hard for me to concentrate in class, to follow the structure they want to foist off on me, I’ve spent a lot of time teaching myself, well past the levels they try and pretend they’re teaching,” I snort at the thought of most of the school’s teachers, I know now they’re doing their best, but some, like Adrian, need a kick in the ass, preferably before he manages to get himself killed again.

 

“Maybe, but I still think it’s mostly you,” he tells me and goes back to reading, it’s a crappy short story by an equally crappy author but it’s supposed to be a classic so we have to do a freaking report on it.

 

“You hungry?” I ask and volunteer to go make sandwiches, “Is it okay if I do ham?” He likes ham and he stares at me while his heart speeds up, “If you don’t want I can do cheese or maybe PB&J?”

 

“No,” he clears his throat and tilts his head thoughtfully, “I like ham.”

 

“Okay,” I leave him to his work and go to make us lunch, he likes apples too so I get him one of those.  I bring our food up and he stares at the apple for a minute or two before he does this weird blush thing and gives me the shyest smile I’ve ever seen on him.

 

“Thank you,” he nibbles on his sandwich.

 

“You’re welcome,” I scoff my own food and damn it I’m still going to be hungry, stupid werewolf appetite.

 

After lunch I take our plates downstairs and get ready to tackle Chemistry, this is something nearly all Beacon Hills suffers with, probably because Adrian can’t be bothered with us so he didn’t really try.  Sitting next to Isaac on the floor I frown when he keeps the text book on the other side forcing me to lean over him to point things out.  Each time I lean his heart does the fear thing but in the end it stops and the smells coming off of him are really mixed, I can’t get a fix on them.

 

Isaac does get a grip on Chemistry and he smells really happy, when he smiles at me I’m a little shocked at how close to me he is, but I don’t really think about it as I smile back at him.  “Thank you,” he says very softly, his breath ghosting over my face.

 

“No worries, you’re easy to teach, and if you need help with anything, anything at all, just ask okay?” I offer.

 

For a few seconds his eyes drop to my mouth and if I didn’t know he’s straight I’d think he was actually going to kiss me, and then he does.  He’s hesitant and I freeze in shock at what’s happening.  Why the hell is Isaac kissing me?

 

Jerking back from him I stare at him, and I know my mouth has dropped open.

 

Ducking his head he laughs at me, “Wow, I thought I’d hate it, I thought that being your boyfriend would be horrible, but that was nice,” and I have no idea what the fuck he is talking about.

 

I make a puzzled sound and he gives me a cocky grin, “It’s okay Stiles, I know it was you that got Boyd to do what he did in the canteen.  I know you’re gay, Erika and Allison told me, and Scott explained that you’ve been hiding it by pretending to be in love with Lydia,” I still have no clue as to what is going on, “And I’m fine with dating you, I know that’s the price for you doing what you did, and the way you’re treating me now? I like that, I like that a lot.”

 

In the distance I can hear Peter snarl angrily, the weights outside clunk to the ground as Derek reacts to what’s going on too.

 

“What?” Is the only thing that’s coming out my mouth.

 

Isaac dips in to kiss me again and I hold my hand out to stop him, he frowns, “Stiles? What’s wrong?  Am I doing something wrong?” He starts to smell of anxiety and I don’t know what the hell to do next as Peter’s growl gets closer.

 

“Isaac… I…” He’s been abused, hurt, he’s old unflinching loyalty to Derek is starting to make sense if he believes there is a price he has to pay to his rescuer.

 

“Peter.” Derek’s whisper carries as does the sound of flesh on flesh, the far too familiar sound of muffled fighting, of two people struggling against each other.

 

Oh crap, this is not good, and then Isaac kisses me again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos for anyone that spotted that plot twist coming


	42. Chapter 42

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I'm pleased I managed to slip that one past most of you, here's part one of the fallout, enjoy and thank you so much for all of your lovely comments :)

Isaac’s mouth is warm on mine, and I can hear Derek and Peter fighting in the background. I have to do something to save everyone, without destroying anyone in the process.

 

When Isaac’s hand comes up to cup my face I pull away from him and we end up staring at each other, “Stiles?” He asks and smells confused, though I note a lack of overwhelming arousal from him and that gives me an idea.

 

“Isaac are you straight? Or gay? Or Bi? Or anything else?” It’s a very serious question and I already know the answer to it.

 

“I’m fairly certain I’m straight, but for you I can be gay,” he moves to kiss me again and I block him with a hand on his chest again.

 

“Isaac, you can’t be gay for me, you can’t change your sexual orientation, you can hide it, you can hurt yourself by denying what you are, but you can’t change who you were meant to be attracted to,” I wave a hand, “There are the odd exceptions but I don’t think that’s you.”

 

Frowning he asks, “So?”  His hand is still resting on my cheek.

 

“Peter,” Derek is hissing, “Listen to Stiles, listen to him, he’s telling the boy no, come on, Uncle Peter, please.”

 

Oh god I have got to get this right.

 

“So it means that you won’t be interested in me, not that way, you can try, hell we might even make it for a while, and frankly I’m loveable so you’ll fall for me in like two seconds flat,” I boost and a smile flickers on his face, “But ultimately I am not the right gender for you Isaac.  You’ll hurt yourself trying.”

 

“I don’t care,” he surges towards me and presses against me, “I don’t care if it hurts me, I’ll do almost anything Stiles, and kissing you isn’t bad, and I’ve seen you with Scott, you’re always looking out for each other, I want that Stiles,” his voice breaks slightly and the stink of desperation hits me, “I need that, please let me do this for you. Please don’t’ send me away.”

 

“I…” How do I turn him down and not make him feel unwanted?

 

Peter’s still growling but quieter and they’re no longer fighting.

 

“Isaac, I’d tell you that you don’t owe me anything,” his face starts to shut down, he’s mentally stepping back from me, “But I don’t think you’re in the right place to understand why I did what I did.  I’ll try to explain to you, but you have to hear me out, okay?”

 

He nods and the desperation is mixing with pain and something that makes me feel sick as my wolf twists inside of me wanting out to destroy anyone or anything that could hurt Isaac.

 

“Okay, thank you.” I try and order stuff in my head and then I give this a go, “You said that Scott and I look out for each other right?” I get another nod.  “Well for years it’s been just me and Scott, the dynamic duo, inseparable, like twins.  Dad and Scott’s mom have said that you only had to look for one of us because the other one was always there too.”

 

He’s listening, he’s not sure but he’s listening, “And I will admit I can be a possessive bastard, so I locked myself in the Stiles and Scott tunnel vision thing, yeah I obsessed about Lydia but she’s a freaking math genius and I like that she can beat me into the ground intellectually.  I may have made up a fantasy world of me and Lydia, a world where we have babies and they take over the world with their smarts, but that world isn’t real, she’ll never want me for me, and we’d clash over every little thing.”

 

Peter’s snarling and growling at Lydia’s name, and I pretend to ignore him, “So there I was in Stiles and Scott land when along came Allison.  She and Scott are an item now, my bro’s world has expanded to include her too.  And no matter how much a teenage me might want to cling to the Lydia fantasy it won’t happen.”

 

Blessed silence hangs in the air, Isaac’s thinking about what I’ve said so far and I continue, “I’m sorry I’m such an asshole and didn’t say anything about all the bruises you always had at practice to my dad.  I’m sorry I was such a teenager that I refused to see what was right in front of me.  I’m sorry it took so long for me to do something to help you.  But…” And this is the tricky thing, “In my mind you owe me nothing.”

 

Shaking his head Isaac says, “Yes I do, I owe you for doing what you did, you don’t know what it’s like, there was no way for me to escape, to get out, and you just stepped in and got me out of that hole.  I was stuck at the bottom and someone was flinging dirt down on me, burying me, suffocating me,” he’s shaking so I gently slide my arms around him.

 

“Well if you’re going to insist.  Isaac Lahey will you please be my friend?” I ask him and rock him in my arms.  “I’m learning that I like having friends, that it’s nice to be with Scott, or Allison, or talk comics with Erika, or sit and not talk with Boyd, because it’s Boyd.  Please can I add you to my list?”

 

“Is that really all you want?” He sounds so fucking broken, I almost want to punch Derek for taking advantage of him back then, or anyone that ever did anything to him. 

 

Stroking my fingers through his hair I curl protectively around him, “Yes, being lifelong friends, sharing happy times and daft times, hopefully being the cool uncle to any kids you eventually have, yeah that’s really all I want,” it startles a laugh out of him.

 

“I still don’t understand,” he admits, “I don’t see what you’re getting out of this.  God even dad used to get sex from me,” and now I want to kill the son of a bitch, slowly, painfully, I want to grab the ingredients that means I can take Isaac’s memories of abuse and give them to his dad, I want that man to scream and scream and scream.

 

“It doesn’t even hurt anymore when he does it,” Isaac twists in my arms, his own hands sliding on my body suggestively, I try not to vomit.  “As long as you were gentle I wouldn’t care.”

 

“I would,” I tell him, “I’d care, because on some level I’d be hurting my friend, and that would hurt me.”

 

He pulls away from me and I let him, he’s been restrained too often as a child for that not to have mentally scarred him.  Tilting his head he studies me, “So it’s not because you’re in love with Derek then?”

 

“What?” Both Derek and I say at exactly the same time.

 

“Scott said you’re in love with Derek, that he’s too old for you, that you need someone your own age,” and I hear the words Isaac’s saying but they’re making no sense to me.

 

“Derek?” I can’t help asking to make sure I’m hearing this right.  “Scott thinks I have a thing for Derek?” Really?  How the hell did he end up with that idea?  “That would be like dating Scott, and I’m a kinky bastard but incest is so not my thing.”

 

“So not Derek?” Isaac asks, “You really just want to be my friend?”

 

“I really want to be your friend,” my voice is a bit faint.

 

“Okay,” And just like that I’m Isaac’s friend.  “I guess this is an out of school thing?” And then he loses me again.  “You hang with your other friends at school, but I can see you out of school when you’re free?”

 

Oh god he really doesn’t understand.

 

“No,” I watch as his face falls, “You’re my friend in school and out,” he looks so fucking lost, “And you sit with me at lunch, you sit with all of us.  I’m not ashamed to be seen with you Isaac, and if anyone wants to say anything to you or me about it, well that’s bullying and my dad’s the Sheriff, plus I can be an underhanded piece of shit if I have to be, just ask Scott.  We’ll all stick together and we’ll be fine.”

 

He nods but I don’t think he gets it, he will, we have time for him to heal, to realise he has people to turn to.  Plus there’s Scott, everyone always trusts Scott, he’ll get through to Isaac, I know he will.

 

“Hey,” I reach out to touch Isaac’s arm, “I’m a little munchy, want some more candy?” He nods again and I don’t want to leave him right now but I have an Alpha and my Beta brother to check on.  “I won’t be long, I want to find you faking doing your homework when I get back.”

 

Walking to the door I stop when he says, “Stiles?”

 

“Yeah?” He’s huddling there and looks so young and vulnerable.

 

“Thank you,” Derek isn’t the only one with expressive eyes, Isaac can do it to and a subvocal whine is pulled from me.

 

I nod to him and say, “You’re welcome,” he might not believe me yet, but he will, and I will save him, I will protect him, he’s going to be happy if I have to destroy the world to do it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry my Isaac feels are getting the better of me.


	43. Chapter 43

Slipping out of my room, I’m careful to pull the door almost closed behind me, I don’t want Isaac following me, not until I know what’s about to greet me downstairs.

 

I’m not even at the top of the stairs when I smell the blood.

 

Silently I spring down the stairs and land in a crouch ready for anything.  Two heartbeats are coming from the living room and I hurry there and skid to a halt as I stare in stunned horror.

 

People describe blood as bright red and give it all kinds of mystical connections, but when it’s been sprayed around a room it just looks like blood.  At the moment it’s making those fancy patterns they always show off in the cop dramas, it’s on the ceiling, the walls, the floor, the furniture.  And there’s a puddle of it where Peter and Derek are laying on the floor quietly and staring at me.

 

Automatically my eyes roam over Peter, his clothes are practically gone, I can see where some of the damage to his clothing came from claws but the rest is like he tried to bust out of his clothes in a hulk like fit of rage, so he nearly went fully Alpha.  There’s plenty of skin showing and I drag my mind out of the gutter to make sure that any injuries he sustained are healing or have already healed.

 

They have and I breathe out to turn my attention to Derek.

 

A Derek that’s controlling his own breathing and is still bleeding from Peter’s claws and those are fang wounds too.  “Oh my god,” I really hate cleaning up after battles.

 

“Stiles,” Peter winces, “I didn’t mean… I got so angry… And Derek… So I…” He won’t look at me and actually drops his eyes.  “I didn’t mean it, I don’t mean it, I…”

 

Hopping over what’s left of our coffee table I reach them and kneel down, out of the blood puddle, “Peter, are you okay now?”

 

“Yes,” he nods shakily and I can barely catch his scent over the blood but he smells upset and sad, that also stuns me and I touch his shoulder gently, he flinches away, “Derek isn’t okay, he’s not okay, and Alpha wounds take longer to heal,” he keeps his eyes down the whole time.

 

“Derek,” I touch his arm and start to pull his pain for him, I whimper a little and then blink because Peter’s doing the same, following my lead, and where small ribbons of black snake up my arms, Peter’s are almost all black.

 

“Thanks,” Derek relaxes, “I can cover most of these cuts and bruises over, they should be gone in a few day,” he doesn’t look at his uncle only at me.  “Can you clean up the mess?  Can your magic do that?”

 

“Yeah, I can totally fix the mess,” I glance around the room, “It might take a while, an hour or so, I’ll have to rest between spells…” And I have to get rid of Isaac somehow, he can’t see this.

 

Clearing his throat Peter says so softly that my enhanced hearing almost doesn’t catch it, “I can start clearing up while Derek rests.  He’ll need a lot of rest, to heal, to get better,” he’s still avoiding eye contact.

 

“Okay,” I draw the word out and glance to see Derek frowning.

 

“Uncle,” Derek’s hand trembles as he reaches out to Peter, “That would good.”

 

And then the floorboard at the bottom of the stairs creaks and we all freeze.  Shit. I spin to go and stop the train wreck I can sense coming up, but I’m too late, I’m facing the right way in time to see Isaac standing there wide eyed.

 

There’s no way he’s missed the blood, it’s everywhere.  I might be crouched near Derek and Peter but I’m not blocking him from seeing them, or at least seeing Derek’s wounds.

 

“Isaac,” I hold my hand out in as non-threatening manner as I can, “Please don’t freak out, it’s not what you think it is,” I have no idea what he thinks it is, but I can guess, and it’s going to be a damn hard sell convincing him this is all a rehearsal for a non-existent theatre production.

 

With his background I’m expecting him to run, to get out of the line of fire, I don’t expect him to take a few hesitant steps forward, but then he always was stronger than he looked.  He’s staring right at Derek and asks, “Why isn’t he bleeding more?  Why isn’t he dead?”  I suppose Isaac would know about injuries and blood loss.

 

“He’s healing,” Peter breaks the silence and he finally lifts his head to look at Isaac, “It will take him a few days but he’ll heal,” I have the perfect view of Peter’s eyes turning electric blue and glowing, something else Isaac won’t be able to miss.

 

Part of me is aware that Peter isn’t as in control of himself as he seems, that he has a genuine mental health illness, but most of me really wants to punch him right now.  I didn’t want Isaac, or anyone, dragged into this mess.

 

Moving forward Peter scoops Derek up into his arms bridal style and stands easily, like Derek’s bulk and weigh is nothing to him, which they aren’t, but he’s not acting very human right now.  He walks slowly towards Isaac, and stops because Isaac is in the way, “Excuse me please, I need to take my nephew to get him cleaned up in the bathroom.”  Isaac scoots to one side, “Thank you,” Peter’s so subdued I’m worried and freaking out at pretty much everything right now.

 

Isaac watches them leave and I stand up to wait for the inevitable questions, but Isaac looks around the room again and says, “I’m good at getting blood out of fabric.”

 

“I…” God I can’t believe he’s helping me, that he’s not giving me the third degree, I watch as he lifts up part of the coffee table and tries to right it. “Isaac…”

 

“You’ll need glue or nails for this, I’ve never had to patch up a table before,” he’s just ignoring the giant werewolf in the room and carrying on like this is normal.

 

I shouldn’t do it but I utter a spell and the wood warps in his hands, it smoothes itself in to the rest of the table and it fixes itself right in front of his eyes, other than startling slightly he just goes to pick up more broken things and he holds them together so I can mend them.  Upstairs the shower comes on and Peter must be washing Derek.

 

We’ve done most of the room when Peter comes back down the stairs, he’s buck naked and goes to his and Derek’s suitcases, he rummages around and then walks back out with some clothes, he doesn’t say anything.

 

Neither does Isaac, he just carries on.

 

I feel like I’m going to fly apart, my nerves aren’t the best of things, and I hate waiting, I know this is going to blow up in my face, that something is going to go majorly wrong.  We finish fixing Peter’s bed and that’s all the furniture done.

 

“Do you want me to get a bucket?” Isaac asks, “It’ll take some scrubbing but we should be able to get most of the blood out.”

 

“I’ve got it,” I tell him and mutter the spell to clean up the blood, it literally vanishes in front of our eyes, this time Isaac helps by finding all of the blood spots and by the time Peter carries Derek back down, luckily he’s dressed now, the living room is back to normal.  Other than the smell of blood still hanging in the air you’d never know that anything had happened here.

 

Peter places Derek on the bed and then draws more of Derek’s pain from him, “Rest Derek, I’ll get you some food, Stiles too,” and he ignores Isaac like he isn’t even there and goes to the kitchen.

 

“Um,” I shift from foot to foot and stare after Peter.

 

“Go,” Isaac moves over to sit near Derek, “I can watch him for you, I’ll call if he needs you.”

 

Seriously?

 

He’s remarkably calm about all of this, accepting even.  I mean I know he took to the werewolf thing like a duck to water, but…

 

Not looking a gift wolf in its teeth filled mouth, I hurry after Peter and hope Derek doesn’t eat Isaac as a snack.


	44. Chapter 44

Standing at the kitchen counter Peter’s making sandwiches.  If I wasn’t a werewolf with a super sensitive nose, or if I didn’t know Peter so well, he’d look fine.

 

He’s not fine.

 

“Hey,” I greet him and circle around behind him, “Can I hug you?”

 

All I get is a nod so I move in to hug range and lean into his back as I wrap my arms around him.  He doesn’t stop making the sandwiches and his muscles move under me.

 

I’m really not sure how to approach this, so I hold him for a few minutes first.

 

He clears his throat, “I would say I’m sorry but I don’t think I’m sorry for the right reasons,” he’s efficiently cutting the sandwiches into little quarters and taking the crusts off of them, they smell like he’s filled them with ham.

 

“Oh?” I’m not sure what he means.

 

“I’m sorry I upset you?” He shrugs slowly and doesn’t dislodge me at all.

 

Squeezing him gently I murmur, “I’m sorry you got upset, I really didn’t see Isaac doing something like that,” Peter’s body stiffens, “I don’t understand why he’d think I’m even interested in him that way.”

 

“Are you?” Peter’s voice is harsh, “Are you interested in him that way?” Anger and rage is starting to come off of him and his body is twitching and almost expanding.

 

“No,” I’m as firm as I can be with an unstable Alpha werewolf losing his temper so close to me, “No I am not interested in Isaac that way. I’m only interested in you that way, it’s only been you for decades, Peter I love you, I’ve never cheated on you, and I never will.”

 

He breathes out and he’s calming down, “Good, that’s good, but it’s not good.”

 

“Huh?” How can it be good and not good at the same time?

 

Moving carefully he turns around, he doesn’t break out of my embrace and there’s the usual awkward shuffling of limbs to get everything right.  My arms are around his body and he puts his around my neck and looks up into my eyes.  I often forget he’s just shorter than me, he takes up so much room in my head it always surprises me when I look down into his eyes.

 

“I don’t really care that I hurt Derek,” Peter says, “If he’d died I would only be annoyed that I’d lost a Beta and would have to replace him,” wow, I know what he’s told me in the past that he was emotionally destroyed and wasn’t capable of any emotion that wasn’t driven my revenge, but it’s something else to have to face it now.  “And Laura?  I’m not bothered in the slightest that one of my last remaining family members is dead.  But you?  You have wormed and crawled your way in and I don’t know how, or even if it’s a good thing.”

 

Rubbing his face on my shoulder he says, “Revenge, the bloodier the better, was my anchor, my goal, the thing that mattered most to me, up to and including losing my life for it, and suddenly you’re there instead.”

 

“I’m you’re anchor?” Damn that was quick and part of me is doing a huge happy dance right now because I am important to Peter, to the point that I’m his anchor, the control I’ll have over him now will keep us all alive.

 

“Yes, my anchor,” his mouth presses against my neck and he licks me, my hands tighten on him as memories of him doing that before burst in my mind.  “I find myself thinking of you at the oddest moments,” and my heart does an embarrassing little pitter patter in my chest.

 

“I think of you too,” my voice drops and I move my neck to expose more of it for him, he grunts and blunt human teeth scrape ever so gently over my skin, yeah I remember that too, and my body is so on for whatever Peter’s up to.

 

“I did not plan for you,” he tugs on my earlobe with his teeth and my hips jerk forward as I groan softly.  “You are throwing all my plans to the wind and I can’t begin to predict what will happen next.”

 

Grinning I push him back against the counter and tell him, “Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve wrecked someone’s plans, it’s a skill.”

 

His fingers play with the short hairs of my nape and I so have to grow my hair out, I may have gotten a bit of a hair pulling kink from Peter, “So I am learning,” he moves his head back and then presses a kiss to my mouth, it’s short and sweet.  “And I feel it would take me a lifetime to just start to get to know you,” he presses kisses along my jaw and I twist to let him nibble on my neck again as my hands kneed his back.

 

“Yeah, lifetime,” and that sounds better than good.

 

“Hmm we should stop,” he’s kissing my neck and sucking on it to, he doesn’t take long to find my sweet spots and my toes curl as I rock into his body.  Little Stiles is very interesting in the proceedings and so is little Peter.

 

“No, stopping bad, stopping really really bad,” I whine as he finds just the right spot to make me shudder.

 

“But we need to talk about Isaac joining the Pack,” and the bastard bites a bit harder so I’m almost forced to rock my hips, and fuck it’s been so long since we’ve done this, I forgot just how good he felt against my body, how good he smells and… Wait… Isaac?

 

Huh?

 

Pulling back from him I blink in confusion, “Err, we were making out, why the hell would you bring Isaac into this?”

 

“Because he’s seen too much, he needs to become part of the Pack now,” And the fucker isn’t even out of breath, if it wasn’t for the faint scent of arousal coming off of him and certain parts of his anatomy digging into my hip I’d wonder if he hadn’t just played me.

 

Before I can say anything he carries on, “You’ve done well to gather human Betas to balance our Pack, to balance me, but they don’t know what or who we are, that will save them from the Hunters, but it lessens their effects on us.  With Isaac knowing what and who we are he can become a fully-fledged member of our Pack, he’ll bring lots of stability and he can hide behind a fake shield of ignorance to save him from the Hunters.”

 

I am seriously unhappy with this turn of events, I really did want to keep Isaac out of it all.

 

“And it will give him a reason to belong that he understands,” Peter dangles that one like a lure.  “If he can’t understand friendship yet, he will understand keeping secrets to keep you safe.”

 

“Uh-huh,” I’m not really buying what he’s selling.  “There’s just one big problem with that Peter.  Derek was able to survive you going Alpha on his ass just now, Isaac won’t.  It’s bad enough you hurt Derek, I won’t let you hurt Isaac, and before you get jealous, I care about both of them like brothers, like Betas I trust my life with.”

 

He nods moving closer and I feel him smile into my neck, “Good, that’s what Pack is supposed to be like.  I’ll make him sandwiches too, and I can help you both with your homework,” he pauses and amends that to, “Well I can help him with his homework, you should already know it.”

 

Peter is a good teacher.

 

Trying to think it over I’m distracted when Peter’s fingers slide through my short hair, and he is so using sex against me.  “He will gain our protection, which isn’t much at the moment, but in time it will impact on his life, we can help with college, with therapy…”

 

Oh he so knows my buttons and how to press them, “If you hurt him,” I threaten, “He won’t heal Peter, he’ll break, and he’s been broken enough.”

 

“Agreed,” and I get another kiss like it’s a prize being dished out for being good.  “He will no longer threaten my link to you, he will balance us, remind us of our humanity, he will be Pack.”

 

Turning away from me he starts to make another sandwich, “Can you get the drinks? I’ll have some juice please Stiles.”

 

“’Kay,” I grab the plastic glasses and wonder just how much Peter’s manipulating me and how much of a fuck up this little disaster’s bound to become.


	45. Chapter 45

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Urgh, sorry that was an epic author fail, I got a last minute invite to go out with a friend, to cut a long story short we caught up, had a great time and I have no idea how you kids manage on so little sleep, I feel like a zombie. Any way am back, here’s some more story.

Somehow I end up carrying in the tray of food and drinks, Peter gets to hand them out and look gracious.  I’m suspicious but go along with it.

 

Isaac’s surprised by his little sandwich, he protests that he’s already eaten but Peter says, “Isaac, boys tend to take longer to finish growing, as long as you don’t overeat you’ll be fine, it’s barely a mouthful or two.”

 

Derek’s plate is piled with sandwiches and bits of ham on its own, Peter’s even cut up the sandwiches to the point that they really are just small mouthfuls to make it easier on Derek.  They still get a glare from Derek before he eats one.

 

Settling on the other side of the bed Peter lounges like he owns the place.  Crawling on the bed after him, I don’t trust him completely right now, I sit beside him and he moves so our hips are touching.  He even puts his arm around me and watches us all eat.

 

Other than widening his eyes at Peter and me, Isaac eats his sandwich slowly and the silence continues to grow in the room until it starts to stifle me, I really need to fill it somehow.

 

When Isaac’s finished his sandwich Peter clears his throat, “If you want to go and get your school things I’ll help Stiles tutor you.  From what I heard through the walls earlier you’re learning quickly.”

 

I’ve seen Isaac in lots of strange situations but he does tend to fall back on his default expression of being a cute little bunny caught in headlights.  He just stares at Peter and then flicks his eyes to me, “It’s okay Isaac, Peter’s a really good teacher and he’s going to play nicely, aren’t you,” I don’t make it a statement and I don’t quite glare at Peter.

 

“Now that I know Isaac isn’t interested in what belongs to me, of course I will Stiles,” Peter even leans in and kisses me softly and I let him get away with it. “If he ever tries to take you away from me I’ll rip him to pieces and feed him his own intestines.”

 

“Peter!” I snarl at him ready to protect Isaac, “No, you leave him alone, he didn’t mean it, he was confused.”

 

“I will not lose you,” Peter growls back his eyes glowing electric blue and his face twisting into Beta form.

 

“You won’t,” I tell him but add, “But you need to control that part of you Peter, I have friends, a life, you are going to be a part of it, you and Derek, and killing everyone I know or care about is not the way to keep me.”

 

He just snorts and looks at Isaac, “You should probably go and get your books Isaac, and as long as you and Stiles are only friends, brothers, Pack, I’ll leave your spine where it is.”

 

“Peter!” Damn it he has to stop that, I can smell the fear from Isaac all the way over here.

 

Still eating his tiny sandwiches Derek enters the verbal fray, “Yes Isaac please don’t hit on Stiles, it wasn’t pleasant to have Uncle Peter hurt me like that.”

 

If anything that makes Isaac shrink in on himself, “Sorry, I didn’t mean… I didn’t know…”

 

Waving a hand magnanimously Peter says, “That’s in the past, I heard Stiles tell you no, and try to explain it to you, just understand that as a werewolf he has certain instincts, apparently he wants you to be part of the Pack, as a human and as his friend slash brother, he clearly sees something in you, something that sets you apart from your other teen peers.”

 

Thinking that over Isaac asks, “Pack?”

 

Pointing at the three of us Peter nods, “Yes, Pack, as in wolf Pack, we are werewolves, we are social creatures, and Pack to us is like a family, some of us are born into it, like Derek and I.  Those like Stiles are Bitten and are often picked to join a Pack, they are chosen, wanted, sought out.”

 

He’s laying it on a bit thick and then Isaac asks, “Do I have to be a werewolf too?”

 

“No, no you don’t,” Peter’s being firm and I know my anxiety levels are rising.  “The Bite itself could kill you, there is no guarantee you’ll turn, and if you don’t turn you’ll die, a rather nasty drawn out death full of pain and agony,” wow he isn’t mincing his words.  “And even if you do turn you have to learn to control your wolf, you saw what happened when I lost control just now, we were lucky Derek was here, imagine what could happen with no one to stop a werewolf in a busy populated area,” and Isaac pales as he does imagine it.  “You would have to be locked up during the full moon to start with, until you learnt control.  And we are hunted by humans, if they find us they will kill us, they do things like burn our homes down around us.”

 

I can see the moment it clicks for Isaac as he gasps and stares hard at Derek, he swallows and nods, “That’s not a lot of benefits and a lot of cons.”

 

“Yes the cons are big, they should not be taken lightly, and they can and will kill you if you aren’t careful, or if you just unlucky,” Peter agrees and I know he’s about to do a sales pitch.  “But the pros are increased strength, speed, hearing, sight, healing.  You don’t know what it’s like to run under the full moon and feel like you could run for hours, days and never tire.”

 

“But Stiles quit the lacrosse team,” Isaac points out and gives me a confused look.

 

I shrug, “I wasn’t sure I could control all of my new abilities and still appear to be an idiot, it’d be really suspicious if I was suddenly good at the game, so I quit, I can run in the woods with the others where no one will see us, I can leap and jump, swim and sprint as much as I want there.”

 

“I had to do the same in school,” Derek says, “I really wanted to play sports but I couldn’t, only Peter had enough control as a teen to be on a sports team.”

 

“Do I have to choose now?” Isaac stares down at his hands.

 

“No, you can decide never to choose,” Peter softens his voice, “You can choose to be Pack and never take the Bite, you can be brother to Stiles and Derek and never have to worry about what day the full moon will fall on.  The choice to ask for the Bite is always yours.”

 

That’s actually nice of him, last time he’d healed enough that when he offered me the Bite he was able to listen to me verbalise no, to back off and leave me human.

 

“Okay,” he’s nodding, “I need to think about that, that’s a lot to take in.”

 

“It’s not a simple decision,” Peter’s nodding too, “And until then you are an honouree Pack member like all of Stiles’ friends, though they know nothing about werewolves and we’d like to keep it that way.”

 

“I can keep secrets,” Isaac’s face twists up, “I’m good at keeping secrets.”

 

That brings the whole werewolf thing to a close, at least for now, and Isaac goes to get his school things.  We do study, with Derek dozing on the bed with us, and when dad walks in Isaac smells relaxed and calm.  He even stays for dinner, which is take out and while he is wary of dad he’s losing his fear of Peter and Derek.

 

When he does leave he stops in the hall by the open door, “Thank you Stiles.”

 

“You’re welcome?” I tilt my head and try to get a read on him.

 

Catching me in the act, he grins, “You need to work on the sniffing the air thing, if I can spot you then other people can too.”

 

“Yeah, it’s all so new, like someone ramped up all my senses and I spend a lot of time tuning them out,” I admit.

 

He pats my shoulder and says, “You’ll make it bro,” then he ducks away and he’s gone.  I’m hoping that’s a good sign.

 

Inside the guys are settling in to watch a game and I join them, I sit away from Peter and lean into my dad, he leans back and that’s how we stay as night rolls in and we cheer the teams on.


	46. Chapter 46

Strolling into school with a radiant Allison we angle towards the others, somehow she’s won the argument with her dad and she’s staying in Beacon Hills, but he reserves the right to take her away if anything bad happens.

 

And then I smell a familiar scent, “Scott!” I crow and wave at him, he’s back, he’s here and I don’t have to worry about him so much now.

 

Getting to him first I draw him into a careful hug, “Stiles,” he hugs me back and we kind of cling there, damn I have missed him even in this short space of time.

 

I’m fairly sure I’m making a spectacle of us and I don’t care, normally Scott doesn’t either and his hands tighten on my t-shirt, it’s been a while since we’ve hugged it out.  “Missed you,” I murmur in his ear.

 

“Missed you too, hospitals suck, there was nothing to do, and it was too quiet,” he says and grips me harder.

 

Burying my face into his neck I breathe him in, he still smells faintly of the hospital but under that is Scott, his mom, his house, Allison, a touch of me lingering on.  He smells of Pack though Peter and Derek are missing, he smells of home.

 

I can hear Allison move and I’m ready to concede my place in the hug to her, but her arms slide around me and she’s turning it into a giant hug, this is so a puppy pile right here and now.  Erika is the next to step up and she hugs Scott from behind.  Isaac hovers and then moves closer, his hand lands on my shoulder and he sort of leans in a bit.

 

Boyd stands off to one side and gives us a judging look, but under that I can smell how much he wants this, he wants to join in, and then he takes a step closer and reaches out gingerly to touch Erika’s shoulder.

 

It’s a start.

 

My wolf is almost wiggling like a freaking dog at being so close to family and Pack, it’s happy and basks in the happy scents being given off.  Around us the school kids begin migrating inside and we really should move, but screw it, I love hugs.

 

We do disentangle and go to our lockers, which is a let-down for my wolf, but we do have to hide in plain sight and frankly we reek of the others and I hum as I get stuff ready for the day.

 

I’ve never understood how Scott does what he does.  Somehow, without trying, he always gets under people’s skin, he gets them to like him, to trust him, and he rarely lets them down on the big things.  To that end I may try and push Isaac and Boyd at him, Erika is happy to spend time with us and Allison’s just happy to have friends for once.

 

We make it through the morning and meet up for lunch.  Isaac’s in an emergency foster care home, so the State are paying for his lunch, he has a strict limit on what he can spend, but the food here is cheap and plentiful so he’s good.

 

Lunch is a little awkward as we get to know each other, Scott and Allison are their normal sappy selves and I smell a budding romance between Boyd and Erika.  Isaac doesn’t say much but his heart is mostly steady and he doesn’t smell fearful just a bit stressed and uncertain.

 

Finding somewhere to hang out I catch up with Scott a bit and we talk about the stupid shit teenagers always seem to think is so important, there are some subjects we steer away from, Erika’s epilepsy means she can’t always see some films, and her parents have banned her from others.  Boyd has a family he has to babysit when he’s not working so his time is limited.  And Isaac’s had a shitty home life.  I have so many things to catch them up on.

 

It takes some fast talking from Allison with her dad, and me with mine but we do manage to get everyone agreeing to meet at Scott’s for a few hours after school, we make plans to study, which means play some video games Erika’s safe to be around, eat, talk, and generally do as little as possible.  I end up enjoying most of the school day and with just one class to go I hurry to get there, only I pass a group of jocks laughing and saying, “That’ll teach the freak,” they smell of Isaac.

 

For a few seconds I want to claw them to find out what they did, instead I memorise who they are and follow the scent trail backwards, it’s a bit confusing, there are so many of them but then I find the open door leading outside and there’s Isaac staring up the side of the building.

 

“Isaac?” I call out and he smells of misery and shame.  “What happened? Why do those jocks smell like you?  And why are you out here?”

 

He sort of folds in on himself and won’t look at me, “It’s stupid, it’s my fault…”

 

“What is?” I touch his shoulder gently, “Come on bro, Pack, remember?”

 

“They cornered me and threw my bag up there,” he points up and sure enough his bag is caught on something a floor or so above us.  “I’ll have to go to the office and ask them to get it down for me, again, this is the fifth time this month.”

 

“I got this,” I pat his shoulder and back up a few paces, then I sprint forward and jump, I kick at the wall to push upwards and snag his bag on the way past.  Dropping to the ground I hold his bag out, “Got it,” I’m more careful how I sniff this time, I want to put names to scents so I can get revenge on them later.

 

“Thanks,” he takes his bag and gives me a shy smile, “Bro.”

 

“Any time Isaac,” I gesture to the door, “Shall we?”

 

I walk Isaac to his class and then speed through the school to mine, I squeak in a few minutes late and collapse into a desk next to Scott who lifts an eyebrow at me, I wait for the teacher to turn her back and I lean over to hiss, “Some jocks picked on Isaac, I was helping him get his bag down.”

 

“He okay?” Scott hisses back and he smells upset and pleased at the same time.

 

“Yeah, those dicks need to learn a lesson though,” I’m already scheming when Scott grins at me and I know we’re going to tag team those bastards somehow, there’s more than one reason we’re not bullied that much.  He holds a fist out to me and I bump it, revenge is so happening.

 

We go back to concentrating on our lesson and file out at the end, we’ll round up the rest of them and meet at Scott’s.  What I’m not expecting is for Scott to use it as an impromptu planning session, he’s much smarter than he lets on, he’s just slow at picking things up, but he can be very good at taking flying leaps when I least expect it.

 

“You don’t have to,” Isaac’s protesting, “I’m used to it.”

 

“We all are,” Erika adds as she and Boyd seem confused as to why me, Scott and Allison as so upset over this.

 

“What they did was wrong,” Scott’s doing his best to explain it, “Isaac shouldn’t have to worry about his bag being taken off of him.  They need to be taught a lesson.”

 

“And you think we can do that?” Boyd’s sceptical and is back to judging us, though all three of them smell afraid.

 

“Yes, yes we can,” Scott does have an evil smile and he lets it out, “Stiles and I have been doing this for years, Allison’s told me some of the things she’s had to do to keep bullies away from here in the past, we can totally do this.”

 

The others aren’t convinced so I catch Scott’s eye and shake my head, we’ll do this later, when it’s just us, and they are going to pay for this, one way or another, and I have far more options at my disposal now than I used to.

 

When we all have to go home dad picks me and Allison up.  He drives Allison home and tells us both that Gerard is sticking to a nice predictable pattern, which means we’re freer to do more, but we still have to be sensible.  I think Allison’s just glad to stretch her wings so to speak, I don’t mind being stuck at home with Peter and Derek, but it was nice to see my friends and have fun.

 

I get my homework down really quickly, I know what I’m doing so it’s much easier the second time around.  I also have to go to bed without spending a lot of time with Derek and Peter, which sucks, but we’ll have years in the future to be a Pack, and I can smell them in the house, hear their heartbeats, listen to their breathing, it all helps, and I drop off to sleep dreamlessly.


	47. Chapter 47

It’s so easy to fall into a routine, school is getting on my nerves, it doesn’t challenge me in the slightest and my GPA is climbing, which is making dad talk about the big colleges, and there is no way I’m leaving Beacon Hills and my Pack.

 

The teens in the school are also getting on my nerves and I see why some teachers just throw up their hands and give up, Jesus they are self-centred little pricks sometimes, and so short sighted.  High school is just a few short years of their lives, they have decades out in the real world, this isn’t the most fun they’ll have or not have, but it is important to how their lives play out.  It’s kind of depressing that they can’t see how the choices they’re making now are going to shape their futures.

 

Peter is pretending to totter around the place and uses a cane to lean on.  Dad is making noises about them moving in permanently, we have the spare room and the guest room, he likes that I’m not alone in the house when he’s working.  Derek even has a job, at the library, its part time and only stacking books, but it gives him an income and while he’s agreed living with us would be good he wants to pay rent to dad.  Dad won’t let Peter talk about rent until he’s strong enough to go out and get a job, and dad’s adding months onto Peter’s recovery for that.

 

Life is pretty quiet and very sweet right now.  It’s almost a month since Isaac joined the Pack and he’s stupidly mentioned he needs to buy clothes.  Erika and Allison came up with a mass trip to the mall, and since her dad held out on not letting her go due to lack of adult supervision and being worried over Gerard, she talked Peter and Derek into joining us.  That was a dumber move because Chris did an internal freak out, so he and Victoria have joined all of us at the mall.

 

Strangely Peter’s having fun right now.  He gets to snipe with Victoria when they’re alone, gets pushed about in his wheelchair by Derek, because he still isn’t strong enough to walk the whole day, or at least he’s pretending he isn’t, he gets to pick clothes out for everyone, and even Victoria has admitted he has good taste, she looked like she’d swallowed a lemon at the time.  And best of all he’s out of the house and gets to socialise more, it will help him heal even further.

 

Of course he’s come really far already, as he’s not using his Alpha healing abilities on the outside, he’s got more to send to his brain.  Yesterday he ordered flowers to be delivered, he told dad it was for himself, but I know they were for me, he made a lovely display of them and they’re sitting in the hallway, the scent of them took a bit of getting used to but it’s like a touch of vibrant life inside the house. Hmm, maybe that means they were for Peter and I should be buying him flowers.

 

Filing that away for later I zone back in to see Isaac trundling back towards the fitting room area, this time he’s weighed down by numerous cardigans, that man does love his cardigans, and it’s getting really cold now, he should stay warm.

 

I’m not convinced he understands friendship yet, that loyalty he once gave to Derek he’s giving to me and to Peter.  Frighteningly in the last two days he’s started looking up to Peter, okay well down to Peter because Isaac’s taller, as a father type figure.  This kind of freaked Peter out a bit, the man did watch his children burn to death in a fire, and it’s been slow going building any kind of relationship between but Peter’s starting to reach out too. I’m just worried that Peter will use him to build a power base.

 

Derek hovers around Isaac sometimes and is currently loaded down with previous purchases made for Isaac.  If we’ve all been round mine and we rough house, especially if Allison rough houses, damn she’s good at that, Derek will step in if Isaac flounders a bit, to the point that Scott now thinks Derek and Isaac are an item.

 

It didn’t stop Scott helping me and Allison set up a neat little prank that had the jocks literally tarred and feathered in the middle of a crowded hallway.  No one can pin anything of us either, though the other three are suspicious and Derek outright laughed when he was told about it, making Scott’s little obsession worse.

 

I’ve tried explaining that Derek misses his siblings and that Isaac had an older brother but Scott is determined to watch Derek for any mistakes.  I really don’t understand why he doesn’t like Derek, he’s much less of a dick now he’s not being framed for murder, running for his life, or being the Alpha.  He’s still grieving for Laura, for his family, but he’s also started therapy and Isaac’s listened to him talking about it and is considering it too.

 

Shopping is kinda boring so I mooch around the shop aimlessly and tune out Peter bickering with Victoria over colours and whether this wool is better than that wool.  Derek and Boyd are off to one side not talking and still managing to bond.  Erika and Allison are looking at blouses or something and trying to work out if Boyd is ever going to ask Erika out or not.  While Scott and Chris are standing near the exit and Scott is being doopy and sweet and making goo-goo eyes at Allison, as Chris seems to waiver between wanting to kill him for being anywhere near Allison and letting him live for making her so happy.

 

Now this is something I never thought could ever happen.  Not only are two of the remaining Hales under the same roof, amicably and learning to be a family again, but the Argents are in the same room, admittedly it’s a big room, and no one is trying to kill anyone.  It’s like a miracle.

 

Something’s bound to go wrong soon, but until then I’m fine with watching this strange thing happen around me, it’s nice to not have to be afraid all the time, I like this not running for my life thing going on.  I could so get used to it.

 

It’s also nice to have my own space too, I love them all dearly, but it’s like starting a new character on an MMO you know well, you have to take your time to build them up again.  It’s frustrating but I know it’ll be worth it in the end.  I’m jerking off in the shower almost every day at the moment and while Peter gives me knowing looks he isn’t making any moves either, he keeps saying he needs time. God I miss him so much and he right fucking there.

 

My phone rings and I recognise dad’s ring tone, he’d gotten up this morning and when he found out what we were doing, he mysteriously had to go into work on a Saturday, I know he was lying because I could hear his heartbeat, “Hey dad,” I greet him cheerfully as Peter and Victoria start a tugging war over a long sleeve t-shirt that is rapidly starting to stretch out of shape.  “Bet you wish you were here.”

 

“Stiles,” he sounds upset, “Lockdown,” and I freeze in place as I let all my senses come online and I start to scan the shop in earnest, I might already be aware of all the exits, and where people are, but now I over analyse everything.  Lockdown was a code word dad came up with so that we’d know something was wrong and both Allison and I would bolt for the day’s designated safe house.  Today’s is the Argent’s house.

 

“’Kay, bolting now,” I tell him and the dial tone sounds in my ear as he puts the phone down on me, “Rude,” I mutter and hurry across to Peter and Victoria.  She’s the current local matriarch and I sidle up to her, “Dad just said ‘lockdown’,” and then I stand there quietly as she goes into scary hunter mode.

 

Within five minutes she’s rounded us up and we’re trooping out to the cars.  Chris is driving the big people carrier, Victoria has the four by four. Peter fake hobbles down the stairs of the parking garage and then we’re off in a little convoy of two vehicles.

 

We arrive without incident and get ushered into the Argent’s house, the house with the extra security that very few people know about. I spot a few devices and pretend I don’t know they’re there.

 

It also smells like wolfsbane, just faintly, but it’s there and I rub my nose to stop myself sneezing.  If Derek or Peter have noticed it they don’t show it.

 

“Well make yourselves comfortable,” Victoria says, “I’ll get everyone some drinks and we can find out if that was just a drill and we’re all free to go.”  She disappears into the kitchen and we all settle in the living room.  I take my time looking around, I never really got to stay in this house much, well apart from the basement but I don’t think that counts as quality time.

 

In the kitchen comes the sound of glasses and general hosting duty things, Chris has gone off and I can hear him checking out the house and making sure we’re alone here.  He’s also locking windows and doors. 

 

Cosy.

 

Sprawling on the sofa I wait for my drink and then maybe we can call dad, I hope to god this is a drill and not real, because my armour is back in my room and we’re stuck in the Argent’s house, no they’re the Bowman’s now, damn it I keep forgetting, they keep forgetting, this name change thing is confusing.

 

And then Victoria’s carrying a tray in and we all sit up to take my glass of juice with a smile and a thank you.


	48. Chapter 48

I’m just about to take a slurp of orange juice when Peter growls very softly and I freeze, he’s glaring at his drink, so I sniff mine and all I can smell is orange and the usual chemicals that come in OJ.  But I don’t have to rely on my nose and I mutter under my breath, sure enough my drink glows red to my eyes only and I put it down on the coffee table.

 

“Stiles?” Victoria gives me a faked look of concern.

 

“Sorry Mrs Bowman, I’m not that thirsty right now,” I give her a faked smile back, the bitch has put wolfsbane in my drink and from the corner of my eye I can see Derek’s and Peter’s drinks glowing too.

 

Both wolves follow my lead and put their drinks down, I suppose it looks like they’re doing as what I’ve told them to do but in reality they don’t want to be poisoned either, and really it was Peter that warned us, but then his nose is going to be better than ours.

 

Her smile sours and the real Victoria peeks out at us before she covers it up again, “Oh that’s too bad, another time then.”

 

“Yeah,” I agree and I really don’t want it to come to the point where I might have to kill her, Allison was devastated last time, it messed with her big time, she shouldn’t have to deal with it this time around.

 

“Is there a problem?” Chris is standing nearby watching us all, he catches the way his wife jumps and frowns when she quickly gathers up the three drinks, the way he shakes his head makes Victoria walk off quickly taking the evidence with her.

 

“No problem,” Peter smoothes over the incident, “We just weren’t that thirsty.”

 

An awkward silence falls over the room and we have to wait for Victoria to come back, she’s carrying the main phone and dials dad while putting him on the loud speaker, “There now we can all hear,” she says pleasantly like she didn’t just try to kill three of us, I’m so not turning my back on her, ever.

 

Going through the switchboard we get hold of dad who’s upset and angry, “You’re all okay?”

 

“We’re fine dad, we’re at the Bowman’s right now, what’s going on?” I lean forward and listen to the sounds behind him, there’s a lot of activity and some of it sounds frantic.

 

“Kate Argent escaped from prison,” he doesn’t beat around the bush and I’m stunned at the news.

 

“How?” Chris barks the question out as his eyes skim around the room stopping at each and every window.  He knows how dangerous she is, and when you take down prey like werewolves you take them out from as far back as you can, like from the end of a snipers scope.

 

“We’re looking into it, but she had help,” obviously, “And to add to that the two people tailing Gerard just called in, they stepped up their surveillance and we’ve been following the wrong guy, he’s given us the slip.”

 

How the hell did he manage that?

 

How the hell did Kate and Gerard manage to get away?

 

The hairs at the back of my neck go up and I can’t help hunching down, god I hate him so fucking much.  I’ve faced down all kinds of bad guys, hell I faced down Peter when he was crazy pants, but Gerard is the one that gave me the most nightmares.

 

“Someone else with very similar features to Gerard has slipped past us and has been masquerading as Gerard.  The guy isn’t talking so we don’t know how long this has been going on,” Dad sighs, “The FBI are coordinating a manhunt for Kate, so we should be able to leave her to them…”

 

Something goes click in my head as I stare at Chris, last time Chris helped Gerard until he went too far and then Chris turned on him.  This time Chris has told him no from the start… The other hunters are hesitant to have much to do with Gerard right now since Kate was caught and sent to jail to await her day in court for being a serial arsonist and killer.

 

Gerard doesn’t have many options open to him right now.

 

“What if Gerard is helping Kate?” I ask and get everybodys attention.  I have to spin it for dad, “He turned up after she was arrested, he’s tried to get to Allison, he attacked me when I got in his way, he wants something from this family,” well he really wants something from Peter, but he have to hope he doesn’t know Peter’s the Alpha.

 

“I’ll circulate his picture,” Dad sounds thoughtful right now, “It might fit with what Chris said about his dad,” I lift an eyebrow at Chris but the man stonewalls me.  “Good job Stiles,” and I grin at getting praise.  “It’s the weekend, why don’t you and your friends stay at the Bowman’s, if that’s alright with them?”

 

 “That’s fine,” Victoria says angelically, “We’ll take good care of all of them,” I may be paranoid but I’m sure there’s some kind of threat there.

 

“Thanks, I have to go we’re all on the hunt for Kate and Gerard, with Stiles’ suggestion I’m going to get the hunts combined, double the chances of catching them,” he says good bye and the phone goes dead.

 

Damn it, now I’m stuck in a house with a crazy Argent matriarch, just what I don’t need.

 

Allison is playing with her fingers and suddenly says, “You know this means we could have a sleepover tonight?” She biting her lip and looking at her dad with puppy dog eyes, “Please?  I don’t want to have to give up being a normal teenager just because my crazy relatives are loose.”

 

Chris is buckling, I can see it but Victoria steps in, “No Allison, no sleepovers.”

 

“But mom…” She tries to argue.

 

“No Allison, there will be no sleeping in the same room with boys,” and her mom was so strict, I’d forgotten about that.

 

“That’s not fair,” she tries to rally back but her mom is having none of it, and she switches tactics, “What if he was gay?  You’d be making it worse by forcing him to sleep with other guys, so shouldn’t he sleep in with me and Erika?”

 

Gay?  Who is she talking about? And then all my friends are staring at me and I realise she means me.  Damn this thing has backfired on me somewhat.  Chris has picked up on them staring and is staring at me in shock, guess he didn’t figure that into his info about me.

 

Neither Peter nor Derek react to Allison’s little gambit and her mom falls for it totally, “Well Allison in that case of course he can stay with you and Erika,” she clearly doesn’t realise and even Chris is hesitating and doesn’t say anything.

 

With that settled we are well on the way to an impromptu sleepover at the Argent house, and I so do not want to be here.  I dread to think what wolfsbane flavoured food Victoria is going to be feeing us for dinner.

 

“Right then, let’s get you settled,” and we’re broken up into groups.

 

Distracted by making us dinner Victoria leaves the bedroom allocations to Chris, who puts me in with Allison and Erika, he shoves me up against a wall first though, “You Bite my little girl and there won’t be enough of you to scoop up into a thimble, but if Kate and Gerard are working together to come after us, you’ll be there to hear them and to defend the girls, got it?”

 

“Yes sir,” I chirp and pretend to be cowed by him, he still thinks I’m just a teenager, that’s good.

 

Allison and Erika are happy to see me and they don’t bother setting up any extra spare beds, I’ll just sleep in with them in Allison’s bed, I try protesting but they don’t listen.  Oh god, why me?

 

I listen as Chris sends the others to their rooms, most of the guys will be sharing one of the bigger guest rooms, he tries to separate Peter and Derek but they stick together and then Victoria is yelling that dinner is almost ready and we troop downstairs to be poisoned, I mean be fed.


	49. Chapter 49

The Argent’s dining room is immaculate and perfect for hosting in.  Their slightly cold attitude to anyone who’s a werewolf is annoying and I can see Allison shooting her parents confused looks at how bitingly polite they’re being towards me, Peter, and Derek.

 

Peter is being perfectly charming and hasn’t put a foot wrong.  Derek is quiet and withdrawn, but when isn’t he.  I’m sitting between Allison and Erika and trying to tone down my general Stilesness.

 

The meal is made up of rice, stir fries, because Victoria can frigging cook awesome stir fry and has managed two different types, and if it wasn’t for the fact the damn black bean is glowing red to me, so I’ve had to warn Peter and Derek not to eat it with a whisper, I’d be enjoying the food.

 

Victoria has offered me the black bean three times and I keep turning it down, “No really I’m good with the sweet and sour Mrs B,” I reach for some more rice, “This meal is amazing and you whipped it up out of nothing, I’m in awe,” I really am, this is rivalling something Peter could cook, it doesn’t have his something extra that makes his cooking better, but it will do.

 

Chris offers to make the dessert and his wife glares at him, “Oh don’t worry dear, I already have something defrosting…”

 

“Please, let me do the honours,” his voice is calm but hard and he’s caught onto his wife’s assassination attempts.

 

He starts to gather our finished dishes and I jump up to help, nothing like being the helpful guest to show up your wife and prove I’m less of a monster than she is.  I even carry them out and stack them next to the sink for him.

 

I do get to see him take out the very nice gateaux from the fridge and he waves it at me, “Did she put the wolfsbane in this too?”

 

My nose is good, but Victoria has been careful to hide it in things I shouldn’t be able to sense it in, I’m only a Beta, instead I cheat and the thing glows red, “Yeah,” I nod, “Dude we haven’t broken the Code, I don’t understand,” well I do, hunters are some of the most racist people I’ve ever had the misfortune to meet.

 

I mean I understand why they’re the way they are, they’ve been taught to hate without thinking about the why behind it, every lesson is reinforced to make it stronger and more rigid. I even understand the reasoning on why they have to be taught that way in order to hunt down werewolves.  We look human, we act human, it’s takes special training, or extenuating circumstances, for most people to kill another human being.  Soldiers have to be taught to kill, and the way they are taught determines how well they will cope with killing and how they will cope with being released back into the general population.

 

If you took the average person off the streets you could go old school on them and do the kind of training that soldiers got for wars like Vietnam, and you’d end up with a hell of a lot of traumatised people who would break, both in training and on the battlefield, and then would be unable to fully function back in their original society.

 

This is the training method the hunters favour and to stop their people breaking they have to make the werewolves not human, they have to make them the monsters, so the new hunters will use all that hatred and cruelty and do their ‘jobs’ to stop the bad werewolves.  And then they can go home to their human lives and not break, because humans aren’t monsters like werewolves are.

 

The downsides and traps in this thinking are obvious and the outcome is an utterly biased set of scarily well trained well-armed fighters that will use almost any means necessary to destroy werewolves.  The only thing that holds them back from full on genocide is the Code, a battered broken Code, one that’s dying slowly and completely, it will leave them rudderless and drifting, and they will not make it out of this alive, I’ve seen the future, I’ve seen THEIR future and it’s not a good one.

 

They could try the other training methods, that ones many armed forces now embrace, the one that teaches about protection, guardianship.  It takes longer to train recruits, it also teaches them to think a bit more for themselves, if done properly, but that causes its own special problems, weapons shouldn’t think for themselves, shouldn’t be able to make world changing decisions, they should simply kill as their leaders require it.

 

In the kitchen one of the last hunters who truly embraces the Code, even if he will never really understand why it’s so important, hesitates and battles with himself.  I almost feel sorry for him, he’s having to re-evaluate parts of his life, and he will never come to terms with the world, he will always be one step out of phase.  In my once future the hunters turned on him and cast him out for holding onto the Code, and that’s all that saved him from the things that go bump in the night, the only place he ever found to settle down was in Beacon Hills and this supernatural shit destroyed everyone he ever loved, mostly because they went dark side, and it destroyed him too.

 

“I don’t know,” he admits and his heart is steady he really doesn’t know, he’s full of hate, of unthinking racism against someone because of a Bite or the way they’re Born, but he doesn’t understand why someone would break the Code and he never will.

 

“Okay,” I know hate, I’m not the nicest person on the planet, I’m not Scott to believe in the best of people, but I’m not totally dark either, perhaps that balance is why I lived and he died.  I could understand why people did the things they did, the darkness that drove them, and I could appreciate the rare few like Scott who are too nice to survive this world intact.

 

Well until now, because I will protect him this time around, and he will get to live his life the way he should have been able to.

 

“Okay?” Chris questions me looking surprised.

 

I don’t think I’ve hidden my feelings very well right now, I have to look away to try and get the idiot teen mask back on, “Yeah, okay. I’m the son of a Sheriff,” I improvise as much as I can, “I know there are times when people do stupid mean things, because that’s all they know how to do, and no offence dude, but you’re wife?  She only knows how to kill werewolves, why would she be capable of doing anything else?”

 

“But the Code…” He’s frowning at me and I feel so fucking old right now, I’ve seen this play out before, not just him, other people, they blind themselves and then whine when it smacks them in the ass.

 

“Kate burnt the Hale family alive,” I point out and he flinches, “Your dad has done similar things if the various police around the world are to be believed,” if anything Chris looks more haunted, “Your wife just tried to poison us and we’ve done nothing to her, I’ve even tried to protect her daughter, unsuccessfully, and you still believe people follow the Code?” I don’t know why I’m trying to impart wisdom to him, it’s somewhat pointless, the hunters will have all this evidence handed to them and I hope to god they learn this time around, because the creatures in the world will also be hearing about all this and they will not stand for it, either the hunters will grow and evolve or they’ll be wiped out.

 

Again.

 

Noise from the dining room breaks the mood and I let my teen self out again, I carry in the ice-cream he gets ready acting like nothing happened and Victoria is really put out over the lack of poisoning going on for three of her guests, I’m not sure what excuse she would have used if she’d have succeeded but hunters have gotten away with murder before so I’m sure she’d do her best to wiggle out of this one.

 

If Chris occasionally gives me searching looks I ignore them.

 

We escape the dining room and make up camp in the living room, various movies and DVDs are banded about before we settle on Disney, because who doesn’t love Disney or doesn’t sing along to the music?

 

Snuggling up to one side of Scott I magnanimously let Allison have his other side and we wow our captive audience with our duets, to the point that Peter sits there with his fingers in his ears, Derek tries to kill us by the power of his glare alone, and everyone else is jeering.

 

Neither of us care but we do sing more quietly, no need to spoil the film for everyone else.  Outside its dark now and I know from experience that this little tiny oasis of light and warm is fleeting.  If we’re really lucky Gerard has gone to find a stone to crawl under and die, while Kate will be fleeing for a non-extradition country.

 

I'm not that lucky.

 

I’m also not the only one listening to the outside, both Derek and I can hear so far and we twitch when a cat gets too close to the house, or a rodent rustles as it gathers food.  Peter’s ears are better than ours and I feel a bit safer knowing he’s here too.


	50. Chapter 50

Laying in bed, and dozing as I listen to the birds outside of Allison’s window, I briefly wonder what my teenage self would have done or thought after spending the night with two girls.

 

Allison is curled up on my right and she’s using my shoulder as a pillow.  Erika is on my left and her legs are tangled up in my left one.  I think my teenage self would have had a panic attack at this point from being so damn close and yet so far from two very fine and sweet ladies.

 

The only other person even half-awake is Isaac, though he’s drifting off again, he had a few bad dreams in the night, not enough to wake him but it wasn’t the most settled of nights either.

 

Everything is quiet until the Argents wake up, Victoria goes to have a shower while Chris slips out of their room and does the rounds of the house checking all the locks.  His movements wake up Derek and Peter though neither of them move.  Chris pads back upstairs and then stops outside Allison’s room.  The doorknob turns and then he’s standing just inside and staring at us.

 

Opening my eyes I give him my dumb look, “Everything okay?” I whisper and watch as he has to take in the sight of his daughter in bed with a man, well boy in this case.  He nods stiffly and I add, “I didn’t hear anything except a few cats and some rodents last night,” see I’m a good little guard dog.

 

“Good, I’ll go and help my wife make breakfast,” he leaves and the door slides shut behind him.

 

Neither of the girls have stirred in the slightest and I grin as Erika snuffles in her sleep and makes these cute little chipmunk noises.  So going to tease her about those in private.

 

Victoria’s finished in the shower and I can hear her getting dressed as Chris walks into their bedroom, he goes for a shower and she goes downstairs.  I get to track her movements as she makes the coffee and wonder how much wolfsbane she’s putting in there, I think I’ll just have water this morning.  Her attempts at poisoning us are getting very tiresome.

 

And then I hear a very familiar engine as dad parks the cruiser up outside and goes to ring the doorbell, that rouses a few more people and I miss Victoria greeting him, though I know she’s sent him to the kitchen so she can come and wake us all up.

 

Allison is a bit of a snuggler in the morning and she plasters herself against me, “Hmm, that was fun, we should do sleepovers more often, I’ve always wanted to do one.”

 

“Yep,” Erika wiggles in against my other side and I have armfuls of girls, oh my teenself would have seriously thrown a fit of delight right about now.  “As long as we don’t have to be in any danger I’m all for it, I like this having friends thing.”

 

“Scott and I do them all the time,” I boast, “Now we can expand them, his mom is less strict and I’m sure my dad will allow them too, though we might have to sleep in separate rooms again.”

 

“That’s fine,” Allison does the hair flip thing, “You’re nice and warm to sleep with, it’s like the heat is just radiating off of you,” And that would be the werewolf body temperature thing.

 

“Maybe I can market myself,” I tease them, “The Stiles for all your platonic hugging warmth needs, just feed with curly fries and ignore the excessive rambling.”

 

“I’d probably buy one,” Erika’s arm sneaks around my middle, “I’d try not to break it from all the hugging, god you give good hugs.”

 

Shrugging very gently I smirk at them, “It’s a Stilinski thing, if I put it on my resume can I get you two to give me good reviews?”

 

They giggle and cuddle up even more before going for a sneak attack tickle, I retaliate and the game is on, I’m careful how I play and keep my hands away from certain areas even as I pull my strength so I don’t hurt them.

 

I’m so caught up in the game that it takes an outraged gasp to make me look up and see a very furious Victoria standing in the doorway.  Her eye is twitching and I have a feeling that is a very bad sign, she’s glaring at where I have my hands on Allison’s bare sides, because her PJs have ridden up, there’s even a hint of boob there.

 

“What is that… That…” Victoria is beyond angry and her rage is rolling off of her and almost choking me with the thickness of her scent, “THING,” she all but hisses, “Doing in your room, your bed, putting its hands on you…”

 

Oh this is bad.

 

“Mom,” Allison says, “You said if he was gay he could stay in here with me and Erika,” and I know from experience that pointing out the logical explanation isn’t always the wisest of ways to go. I’m right and the twitch in Victoria’s face gets worse.  “Mom?”

 

The inarticulate rage is a sight to behold, one I’d happily forego and then Victoria is striding forward and grabbing my ear, damn it why do women always grab me by my ears?  I’m dragged out of Allison’s bed with both girls yelling and me whining.

 

I can’t do anything wolf like to break her grip and I’m forced out into the hallway in just my boxers and the t-shirt I was wearing yesterday.  “You little mongrel, you keep your animal paws off of my daughter,” Victoria is whispering and the venom in her tone could kill the entire population of California hundreds of times over.  “I don’t care that you’re her ‘friend’ you disgusting monster,” we’re at the top of the stairs and I can hear Derek making his way towards us as Allison is almost screaming at her mother, and then Victoria very openly pushes me down the stairs.

 

Luckily I know how to roll and I make it to the bottom of the stairs with a loud crash that wouldn’t have hurt me much as a human let alone as a werewolf.  It does however, draw my dad out of their kitchen and makes the gathering crowd, all in their sleepswear, at the top of the stairs start yelling and making a scene.

 

“Stiles,” Dad kneels next to me, “Are you okay son? What happened?”

 

“Victoria pushed him,” Peter’s voice cuts through everyones babble just as Chris skids to a halt near him in only a towel and a few stray bubbles.

 

“Victoria?” Chris is stunned.

 

She gives him a venomous look, “That thing was in Allison’s bed, it was defiling her!”

 

It’s fairly dramatic and I mentally give her points out of ten in my head, she’s scoring an eight, I’ve known Derek for years he’s one hell of a dramatic little Diva.  “Stiles?” Dad’s shocked, “Where you and Allison really…” He’s clearly trying to think of a delicate way to put it.

 

“Sheriff,” Allison calls down, “We were just playing, Stiles is gay, he’s not interested in me or Erika that way,” and then her eyes go really big because I’ve not really come out and especially not to dad.

 

“Gay?” His voice is a bit faint and he stares at me.

 

“Hey dad,” Oh god this is going to go so wrong, I can just tell.  “Um, I’ve been meaning to tell you about this, um, thing, and hey, I’m gay!” I try for upbeat and I think I fail.  Of course last time I came out to him I was in college and I’d broken up from being with a girl for a few months and dad may have come to surprise me and I was kinda balls deep in a guy, and well my coming out as Bi may have been mentally scarring for us both, and the guy, who wouldn’t talk to me after that.

 

“Stiles, I, I,” and dad looks a bit lost, “Gay?” I nod and act unsure, I needn’t have worried as he sweeps me into a giant hug.  “Stiles I don’t care, you’re my son and I love you, I will always love you no matter what.”

 

Oh god I have missed him, and his hugs, I turn into it, “Thanks dad, you don’t know how much it means to me,” and this time it’s a lot less scarring for both of us.

 

“Victoria, no,” And Chris has made it to his wife, he’s got his arms around her and she’s struggling, “You heard them last night, you even agreed that he could stay in Allison’s room.”

 

“I thought she was making a joke, I didn’t think she meant that little monster would be there with her, that thing should be put down before it ruins her,” and Victoria is letting way more slip than she should do.

 

And then Chris’ towel slips and I get a very nice view of his very nice butt.  Wow Allison’s dad is seriously fit.  I mean he’s so not my type with the evil and hatred and Peter’s ass is much better, but then I am spoilt because Peter is beyond hot.  And I know my eyes are glued on that muscled ass when dad elbows me and hisses, “Stiles!” So I look away as innocently as I can only to find everyone, including Victoria staring at me.

 

“What?” I complain, “It’s not my fault the towel slipped and Mr B’s toned physique was put on display.”


	51. Chapter 51

Back at home I’m laying on my bed reading a comic, damn I’d forgotten I had this one, I love Batman, he’s awesome, unrealistic but awesome.

 

I’m now banned from the Bowman household, not because of Allison anymore, but because of Chris.  Apparently Victoria now believes I’m gay and has gone all territorial on her pert husband’s ass.  Pert, with just the right amount of muscle.

 

Peter’s is still better though.

 

Dad is being supportive of my sexual orientation, and it’s annoying I can’t be completely truthful with him, I’m Bi but I’m not interested in anyone other than Peter so I suppose gay is as good a label as any, not that it’s accurate.  He’s also mad at Victoria and is threatening her with assault charges, he also took me to the hospital and made them check me over.

 

With my accidental destroying of our alliance we’re no longer able to work with the Argents on this whole Kate and Gerard thing.  So dad’s had to go into work on a Sunday to start working out how to handle the logistics.  I wish I could tell him that I’m going to be fine, because I’m a werewolf and they’re not expecting me to be a werewolf.

 

Though I am taking a few steps of my own, at the bottom of my backpack is a new compartment and I’m going to be carrying around my armour at all times.  I’m also trying to talk Derek into letting me make some for him, he’s being stubborn and saying no.

 

Picking up a piece of candy I flick it up into the air and then catch it in my mouth, I don’t even have to take my eyes off my comic, teen me would have loved to have been able to do that, I spent a lot of time in my teen years trying and nearly choking to death.

 

I can hear Peter moving stealthily up the stairs, well I can hear his heartbeat, but that’s it.  When he pauses outside my door I wonder for a few seconds if he’s going to come in or not.  He’s been giving me the cold shoulder since the towel and butt incident.  Totally not my fault but Peter’s still sulking, I’ve tried apologising but it’s getting me nowhere.

 

My bedroom door opens almost soundlessly and Peter glides in before posing slightly with that wide stance thing he’s always had, I’ve always found my eyes drawn to either his ass or his crotch and it’s no different now.

 

“Stiles,” Peter says calmly and doesn’t give me the slightest clue as to what he wants or what he’s up to, I can guess that he’s going to stir things but to what end is a mystery.

 

“Hey Peter,” I wave a finger at him and go back to reading, he hates being ignored.

 

Somehow I hold my heartbeat steady as he moves closer and then he’s lounging on my bed, well the foot of my bed, but he makes it look so effortless, like this is something anyone do and make themselves look good.

 

Resolutely keeping my eyes on my comic I read the same freaking panel six times and I’m still not taking it in when a finger runs over my foot and I jump.  “Did you need something?” I ask him in my best helpful voice.

 

He doesn’t answer and his finger traces over my foot, but slower this time and he’s so going to play me, I know he’s going to play me.  It’s so hard to be around him because of how much I care about him, the memories I have of us together and not being able to touch him when I want to.  He’s using my feelings against me and I know this is some kind of payback because of Chris, I also know I didn’t smell of arousal then that I wasn’t interested in the hunter and that Peter will know this too.

 

The finger on my foot is slowly drawing shapes and I think he’s spelling my name out, the he goes on to geometric shapes, nonsense shapes, a few runes, his voice is deeper than normal and reminds me of conversations late at night, “You’ve not turned a page since I sat down,” he helpfully points out and I hide my sigh, damn him.

 

“Haven’t I?” I try reading the comic but I’m really focused on his finger, my foot and the teasing he’s doing.

 

“No.  Am I distracting you Stiles?” He’s playing again.

 

“You always distract me Peter,” I tell him the truth, “You’re one of the most distracting people I’ve ever met, and I’m including myself in that list.”

 

“Hmm, that’s a lot of distracting going on,” he says and starts writing on my foot again.

 

I blink and laugh at what he’s written, “Yes Peter I am your property, you don’t need to write it on me.  You’re the only one I’m interested in.”

 

The finger that was writing turns into a hand that encircles my ankle and he starts to caress the skin there, shit, I do my best to ignore him but my body is starting to take a big interest in what he’s doing, and my growing arousal is filling the air and my pants.

 

“But you slept with two girls,” he’s being deceptively calm and I smell a touch of anger.

 

“Girls who think I’m gay, one girl being interesting in Scott, and I think the other one is interested in Boyd but isn’t sure how to get him to ask her out,” I try to go back to reading.  “I mean don’t get me wrong they are cute and hot,” the hand on my ankle tightens, “But they are way too young for me, and they’re not you,” the hand relaxes and goes back to caressing me.

 

“Hmm,” is all he says for a few minutes and I really do try to read the comic as his anger recedes, “And Chris?  What about him?”

 

“Allison’s dad is one hot guy,” and there goes the ankle gripping again, “But he’s not you, and the whole hunter thing and trying to kill me would sour anything even if I could get over his unattractive racism streak.”

 

“You were looking at him a lot while he was without his towel,” Peter isn’t going to let this go.

 

“Yep, it was a fine ass, a very fine ass.  Not as good as yours, but nice enough.  It was also enough to convince everyone I’m gay,” I flick the page of my comic over, I’ve not read anything but who gives a fuck right now.

 

The hand around my ankle vanishes and I’m disappointed I wanted more Peter time, but I guess he’s gotten his answer and I wait for him to leave.  Instead he lays down next to me and I turn to look into his blue eyes that are smiling at me.

 

“Hey,” I have no idea what he’s up to now.

 

“Hi,” he smiles and then says, “So my ass is better than Chris’?”

 

“Yep,” I draw the P sound out.

 

“I like yours better than Chris’ too,” he says slowly  and then props himself up on an elbow to gaze down at me, my heart kicks in my chest a few times I try really hard to tell my stupid emotions to not get too excited because he keeps doing stuff to me and then backing off.

 

“Thanks,” I stutter out and then wince, wow so smooth, Jesus I’m over a hundred years old you’d think I’d handle this better, but my mouth is going dry, my hands are a bit damp and I’m worried I’ll screw this up with Peter and the whole thing will go wrong.

 

“You’re welcome,” he’s smiling and so up to something.  “Are you really reading that comic?” He asks and sort of leans in a bit.

 

“No,” my voice cracks and I hate puberty right now with a passion, “Not really, just passing the time until…” Oh my god his tongue has just flicked out and licked along his bottom lip.

 

“Until?” His voice is even deeper and I remember that tone, oh god do I remember that tone.  My blood is rushing south now, he has to hear it, he has to know what he’s doing to me, the game he’s playing and I’m kinda helpless to deny him.

 

“Um until,” I try gamely to keep going, Peter’s one of the few people to reduce to me to nonsense or silence, “I forget,” I admit and I can see his pupils are dilated, and that’s the smell of Peter’s arousal, oh god, I know he’d going to leave me dangling but damn it I want a kiss off of him first.

 

“So I’m that distracting?” He’s amused and moves closer, I freeze unsure of how to get him to stay close, his eyes lower from mine and skim down to rest on my mouth, “Hmm, I wonder how I distract you Stiles? I wonder what you could be thinking of right now?”

 

The fucker knows what I’m thinking, my eyes are bouncing between his and his mouth, god I want that kiss, I want him, and I know he’s going to leave me hanging, he’ll breeze out and I’ll be stuck with a raging erection and no choice but to ‘take a shower’ to deal with it all while I fantasize about him giving me one little kiss.

 

Holy mother of god Peter is good at playing this game when all I’ve ever done is try the direct approach, I’m not so good at this flirting stuff, and it’s been years, I can be funny when I flirt, I have a large repertoire of jokes and jokey pick-up lines, but this stuff is usually beyond me.

 

Letting the comic go I end up gripping the bed spread under me and hoping I don’t frighten him off too soon. I know he’s not ready, he’s still got a lot of healing to do, but I need him so much right now.

 

Licking my lips I get to see his eyes follow the movement and the way his pupils jump and widen further prove he’s not as immune to me as he often acts.


	52. Chapter 52

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure I should be so proud of myself that most of you called me evil :) Who am I kidding i loved it, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA, enjoy this chapter...  
> TW - mentions of past non-con

I keep waiting for him to back off, to stop and breeze out of my room, but he’s still staring at my mouth and I fight to stay still to not arch up when he’s not even touched me.

 

My breath is coming in little pants and I can see him taking deeper breathes like he’s pulling in my scent, his eyes are turning electric blue and I can’t help the whine that slips past my lips. God I used to come apart under his hands and his eyes would shine like that, even in the dark, the ghost of his touch skitters over my skin and I sob his name.

 

“Peter, god, Peter,” I writhe a little and I know he’s gotten what he wants that he’ll leave now, “Please,” I beg and that’s probably stupid, you shouldn’t give Peter power, especially an insane version of him.

 

“I’ve not even touched you,” he murmurs, “Not done a thing to you and your begging for me,” his smile is so fucking predatory right now, “The things I can think of to do to you Stiles, and you wouldn’t stop me would you?” I shake my head because the things I want him to do to me, the things I want to do to him, “You’d beg me to keep going wouldn’t you!”

 

“Yes,” I gasp it out and fuck I need him, “Peter, please, Peter, god, need you,” I tell him and he’s just hovering there not moving to take me or do anything it’s depressing that he won’t just take me.

 

“Need you too Stiles,” his face is changing, the wolf in him coming to the surface, it should scare me but it just makes me want him more, “Need you so much.  You sleep with girls and never look at them, a naked man makes you look but not want, and all I have to do is be near with you and you end up panting for me.”

 

And I am panting for him, “Only you,” I stop fighting and let him do what he wants to me.  I’m going to regret it but screw it, what’s life without a little risk.

 

“So I’m learning,” and to my shock he does lean down and kiss me, it’s so soft, he’s barely touching my lips with his.  My claws come out and I’ll have to fix the bedspread later but right now I almost have what I need.  And then he pulls back to stare at me again, “How am I supposed to resist someone as delectable as you?”

 

“Don’t,” I urge him, “Don’t resist me, trust me Peter, I’ll catch you, keep you, I’ll never leave you,” he blinks and I want to kick myself for breaking the moment and then he’s back to kissing me.  Only this time it’s like he’s trying to crawl inside me and I open my mouth to his very insistent tongue.

 

His hand grips the side of my face and he holds my head still as he all but assaults my mouth, his teeth graze my lips and I thrash under him, I want more and I don’t care how violent he gets we’ve done rough before and it’s been too long since I’ve had him.

 

He breaks the kiss just long enough for us both to gulp some air into our lungs before he’s back again, this time he’s gotten himself under a bit more control and we kiss passionately and frankly filthily but with less chance of his teeth cutting my lips.

 

Letting go of the bedspread I palm his shoulder and try tugging him down, he gradually lets himself lower down but the bastard has angled his lower body so only his chest is on mine.  Any chance at friction is totally lost and I have to tell myself that this is a good step for him, and to take it slowly, he still needs to recover.

 

Gripping his shoulders I rub circles and then run my other hand up and into his hair to play with his scalp, he’s surprisingly sensitive there and he groans into my mouth. I swallow his groan and try encouraging him to make more of them, he obliges and then I feel the bed move where he’s thrust his hips into the mattress.

 

I’m vaguely aware of Derek saying something about working out and then the back door slamming in the background, only Peter’s making broken little moans as his hips stutter and I’m engrossed in the way his tongue is doing that thing he does as I groan loudly and wiggle unable to get my own friction.

 

Suddenly he pulls back and he looks shocked, almost debauched, not really in control of the situation and I smirk at having gotten to Peter so much, his mouth is swollen, his pupils blown wide ringed with glowing blue shimmers, he’s panting as hard as I am, and his hair is a mess.

 

“Stiles,” he’s sounds hoarse, “Stiles, please, I need,” he’s shaking, “It’s been so long, I haven’t, I can’t,” he’s almost pleading with me.

 

“Peter.” I reach up to cup his face this time, “What do you need?”

 

He looks away and stiffens, the smell of embarrassment is coming off of him in waves drowning out the delicious arousal he was radiating, “I haven’t… Since the fire… By myself… I wasn’t…,” his eyes are darting about and he’s getting ready to bolt.

 

“Shh,” I try to sooth him, “It’s okay Peter.” I think I know what he means, “Really, I’m stuck in a sixteen year old body I’m not going to last either, I need you too much Peter,” I lean up and kiss his jaw, it tightens so I keep kissing along it, “What do you need from me Peter? I love you, I care for you, I want to make you happy Peter, I want to please you,” he shivers and I nip at his jawline.

 

“Stiles,” it’s almost ripped from him, “I need…” He’s really tensing up now, “I really need to climax,” and if anything he’s getting even more stilted and the resemblance to Derek when he starts clamming up is very noticeable.

 

“Okay,” I agree with a lazy smile, “How can I help you?  What do you want me to do Peter?  Just do what we were doing so you can get yourself off? Or I have two hands that are very eager to help, or I have a mouth that can suck that tension right out of you,” he whimpers and almost growls at my words.

 

“That mouth of yours,” his whole body shudders as I lick my lips and get ready to rock his world but then he adds, “I don’t want you to see me with the scars there, they’re everywhere Stiles,” he’s back to not looking at me.

 

“I don’t care,” he snorts disbelievingly at me, “I really don’t care Peter, I’m just so fucking happy to have you in my life, the scars can go fuck themselves.  I don’t even see them anymore.”  I try getting close to him but he’s pulling back and away from me.  “Damn it Peter, please let me do this for you, please.”

 

“I can’t,” and he really does bolt from the bed leaving me with a raging erection and an urge to hunt Kate fucking Argent down myself so I can kill her slowly.

 

I’m not used to a Peter that doesn’t flaunt himself at me, that isn’t flagrantly arrogant in his own perfect self-image.  Suddenly the speed at which he healed his scars the first time around is making a bit more sense, it was a dumb move, he could have hidden behind his true name and pretended to wake up from his coma, instead he caused himself so many problems with his vanity.

 

Scrubbing a hand across my face I mutter, “Fuck,” and get ready to change my plan with him, this is going to take some research.  I have to come up with a way to make it plausible as to why his scars will fade away, all while making him comfortable in his own skin, enough that I can get my hands and mouth on as much of him as I possibly can, and not die of blue balls.

 

“I’m sorry,” he says all the way downstairs and he sounds miserable, “I just can’t, I can’t let you see me like that, scarred, ruined.  The last person to see me whole was my wife.  My nurse would make me ejaculate on the full moons and she couldn’t bear to do much, just a hand and she was careful to scrub herself afterwards…”

 

The growl that comes out of my throat is loud and makes him stop mid-sentence, “Fuck her Peter, she’s nothing but a psychopath, a killer, someone who sexually assaults her patients,” I’m off the bed and heading downstairs even as I hear Derek almost rip the back door off the hinges.

 

Derek’s wolfed out too and he snarls, “She did what to you?” He’s angry and I see Peter actually shrink back from him.  “No one touches any of you without your permission, no one.”

 

I’m not sure Derek’s aware of Peter moving away from him because he’s throwing himself at his Uncle and hauling him to a hug, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry she did that, we didn’t know, we thought you were safe there.  We paid extra to make sure you’d get good care, we didn’t dare stay in case we drew the hunters to you.  They leave the infirm and crippled alone, we couldn’t protect you any other way, and we still failed you, I failed you.”

 

Wow, Derek never talks that much but Peter’s kind of holding onto Derek, and Derek’s kind of holding on to Peter, and I think they just had a breakthrough.

 

Idly I wonder if I can break into Jennifer’s prison and somehow kill the bitch really, really slowly.

 

As much as I don’t want to be left out of the whole hugging thing going on I retreat and grab plenty of tissues and cold drinks, and I put them in easy reach of them.  I can smell the salt of their tears but I can’t see their shoulders move, they’re crying but not sobbing like I would be.

 

And then Peter sort of sticks his hand out and I rush over to hold it and wrap both of them up in my arms, “I’m here,” I murmur to them, and especially to Peter, “I’m here.”


	53. Chapter 53

The FBI agent assigned to drive me to and from school, while maintaining a low profile so he can guard me, is stonily driving like a robot and he’s going to stick out like a sore thumb at school.  As much as I want to pound my head on the dashboard I know what it’s like to be the one worrying about loved ones, so I let dad get away with this and grit my teeth.

 

Parking in the visitor spaces and making as splashy an entrance as he can I vaguely wonder how he even managed to make it through the training and exams.  Maybe the fact the guy is clearly an idiot is why he can be spared from the manhunts going on to guard me.

 

Shaking my head I wander off to go and find my friends. And then I spot a potential problem.  Chris Argent is standing with his daughter and I’m not sure if I should avoid him or just breeze up to them.

 

It wasn’t my fault his wife pushed me down the stairs so I breeze up to them, “Hey guys,” I chirp and pointedly don’t look at Chris.

 

“STILES!” I’m enthusiastically greeted and hugged by everyone, well everyone but Chris who looks like he swallowed something sour.

 

“Stiles,” Chris clears his throat, “If I could have a quick word?”

 

A few of my friends make token protests, but I’m right out in the open, there are plenty of witnesses and the archaic CCTV cameras to protect the teachers’ cars to stop him doing something stupid.

 

We step just far enough away that human hearing won’t make most of our conversation out, he looks really uncomfortable and I find it fun to cross my arms and wait for him.  “I’m sorry,” he mumbles, “I’m sorry Victoria broke the Code the way she did.”

 

“Which time,” I can be very annoying if I want to be, “When she poisoned the OJ, the black bean, the pudding, probably the coffee I never got a chance to drink, or would it be the time she dragged me out of bed and shoved me down the stairs?”  He looks really guilty now.

 

“All of them.  I still don’t understand why she did it.  You’re not a threat to us, you’re not rabid yet, you’re very family orientated which will make for a stable Pack,” he’s confused again.

 

Sighing I drop my arms, I’m not really feeling confrontational about this, “Mr Bowman, I already told you, if you live your entire life only knowing one thing, one way to be, then that’s all you’ll ever do.  Mrs B only knows hate and murder, she’s been taught to hate werewolves with an unthinking racism, why would she let facts, the truth, or logic get in the way of that unrelenting hatred?” He blinks at me a bit stunned, “Why even look at the basis of that hate, or why you teach your children murder, torture, terror, and all the tools and skills of being serial killers.  I’m actually surprised more of you don’t snap like Kate and start destroying large swathes of the population whether they’re human or werewolf.  So it’s not your fault your wife is the way she is, just don’t expect me or my dad to come over any time soon, it’s depressing to keep dodging murder attempts.”

 

“I…” He’s just standing there looking shocked so I walk off and leave him.

 

“Are you okay?” Allison hugs me and shoots her dad an angry glare.

 

“Yeah, your dad tried to apologise, and he really doesn’t understand why your mom did what she did,” I try to sooth Allison and my friends.

 

“I don’t understand why she did what she did,” Allison admits, “Who cares if you’re gay?  You’re still you and there is a very lucky guy out there just waiting to find you,” thankfully they all seem to think Allison’s mom is just homophobic, which is handy.

 

“Thanks Allison,” I hug her back, “You’re a good friend.”

 

Surrounded by my new circle of friends I get lead to my lock and we all get ready for classes.  A few of the other kids are whispering and I zero in on their conversations, they’ve all heard about Allison’s mom pushing me down the stairs and the fact that I’m gay, I’m now a hot topic of conversation.

 

For the first time ever a few of the girls actually talk to me, though the boys are acting weirder than normal and give me extra space.  Bemused by the way teens work I wander down the corridor to the canteen when a hand grabs my arm and yanks me towards an empty classroom.

 

Lydia’s lucky my werewolf senses realised it was her or else I could have hurt her badly. Instead I let her hustle me into the classroom and close the door behind us.

 

“Hey Lydia,” I give her a goofy smile, I’m guessing I can pretend I was hiding my gayness by acting like I was in love with her, “How is my strawberry blonde goddess today?”

 

“You can drop the act Steven,” she crosses her arms and glares at me.

 

“Stiles,” I correct her.

 

“What?” She frowns in confusion.

 

“It’s Stiles, not Steven,” I go to leave but her hand clamps onto my arm and holds me in place, not that I couldn’t break her hold, but I don’t want to call too much attention to myself.

 

“Stiles, then.  I want you to know that I’m not fooled by your little act of being gay,” and I should remember to never underestimate her, the only advantage I have is that she’s completely ignorant about werewolves.

 

“Act?  Lydia your boyfriend’s best friend is gay, how am I acting gay when I am gay?  I like guys,” I pull out of her grasp and move away acting offended.

 

“You might like guys Stiles, but you didn’t fake the whole over the top crush on me thing either, I know when guys are really into me, and you were,” she pauses as I mentally map out ways to escape from her, “Emphasis on ‘were’, because the first day in school you weren’t yourself, in fact there are several anomalies that all seem to trace back to you.”

 

Crap.

 

“Anomalies?  Me?  Lydia I’m just the idiot goof ball son of the Sheriff, there are no anomalies that don’t involve ADHD and too much Adderall,” I do my best to dismiss her and head for the door again.

 

“Then why aren’t you on the Lacrosse team?  I saw you on that field Stiles, you’re better than all of them, even Jackson,” Damn it, I keep going for the door, “I also saw the desk with the break in it when the girl was having a fit, there are plenty of anomalies Stiles and I will keep looking.”

 

“Look all you want,” I graciously tell her, “You won’t find anything, because there is nothing to find, bye Lydia, have a nice life,” I bow to her and go to sweep out of the room.

 

“Who is he? This boy you’re in love with?” She asks and I freeze for just a second, but it’s a second too long, “You are just as into girls as you are boys Stiles, so the only reason you’d be acting the way you are is if there was someone, other than me, that you’re interested in, after all I’ve been the subject of your special brand of obsessive love for years…”

 

She smirks at me, “See I was right Stiles, and yes,” she walks towards me slowly, “I will be watching you,” she passes me with a flit of her hair, “And I will find out everything.”

 

Shit.

 

She’s gone and I mentally kick myself for underestimating her. I won’t make that mistake again, she’s only going to see Stiles from now on and I act like nothing’s wrong in the canteen where I sit with my friends and put up with the idiocy of teens and their hormone fuelled logic.

 

The agent is there to drive me home and when I get in I dive onto Peter’s bed and curl against his side.  He’s on my laptop again but he lifts up an arm so I can snuggle into him.  Lydia was totally right, there is a guy and I am totally into him.

 

“So how was your day?” Peter asks as he absently taps on the keyboard.

 

“Okay I guess, being a teenager again sucks, I preferred being an adult, yes I had to work and keep the money coming in, but god it was better,” I whine and dodge the Lydia problem, I have it under control, everything’s going to be fine.

 

“Well it won’t last, you’ll graduate in a few years,” he points out, “Then you just have to survive college again,” he smirks and I mock growl at him.

 

“Yeah?  Well this time I’m not traipsing around the country for college, I’m going to the community one nearby,” I rest my head on his shoulder, “If teenagers are bad I dread to think what college kids are like,” I shudder and he chuckles.

 

After yesterday’s little outburst Peter’s being more approachable and I’d say more invested in life too.  He and Derek are tentative around each other but again they’re rebuilding their relationship and that’s something I never thought I’d live to see.

 

I might be stuck as a teenager, but life is good right now.


	54. Chapter 54

With our alliance in tatters and the danger of Kate and Gerard lurking and evading the manhunts, things are a bit tense.  The last two weeks of school have been seriously annoying.  Between avoiding Chris, or hiding outright from Victoria, I’ve managed to keep the peace in our new little group.

 

Which is an awesome group and Erika is now dating Boyd, I’m really psyched for them too.

 

The agent acting as my chauffeur is a miserable bastard but I can learn to ignore him, it helps stop my dad panicking so that’s a good thing. It also means I can watch and see if anyone is following us without looking like that’s what I’m doing.  So far so good.

 

The news that I’m gay has spread far and wide, my lack of attacking the guys has made them relax and Danny has already pulled me one side and gently let me down because he’s already taken and he thinks of me like a friend.  He also lied he doesn’t think of me as a friend but most guys that come out start hitting on him so I can understand and I pretend to be heartbroken but stoic.

 

Allison and Scott are going strong, now Erika and Boyd are joining them, leaving me and Isaac the odd ones out in the group.  Though Isaac is going to therapy now and has admitted he doesn’t understand most of what his therapist is talking about, but if it means he ends up happy he’ll keep going.

 

At home Derek and Peter are starting to bond, they don’t have a lot in common but are giving each other space to do their own hobbies.  Derek’s is reading when he’s not working out or down the library, which is now banned until Kate is caught.  Peter’s is stealing my laptop and surfing the net, I dread to think what he’s picking up on there.

 

Two days ago Derek was puttering around the kitchen shoe and sockless as he’s prone to doing, when the neighbour decided that blowing her new dog whistle was a good idea.  I was upstairs and clapped my hands over my ears, Peter was on the internet and did the same.  Derek had a glass in his hand and it dropped to the floor and shattered.  Being Derek he just stepped in the glass on his way to get a dustpan and brush.

 

Peter kinda freaked out a little and ‘rescued’ his nephew by picking him up bridal style and then making him lay on his stomach while he carefully removed the shards of glass from his feet.  I was left with the clean up duty and I had to use magic to put the glass back together and mop up the blood.

 

Derek’s face was kinda funny, he really didn’t know how to handle his uncle fussing over him and hovering.

 

That reaction from Peter, along with how he’s much more accepting of me and my more gentle advances, gives me hope that Peter is becoming more sane, or at least he’s getting better anchors.

 

Getting home on Thursday I let myself in the house and Derek’s doing push ups on the living room floor, he pauses long enough to stare at me, “He’s upstairs, in the bathroom, the doctor recommended some new cream to stop his scars pulling and itching.”

 

I really want to ask how the rest of the visit went, but Peter’s ears are WAY too sensitive and he’ll hear every single word we say.  “Cool, has he said if the cream is working or not?”

 

A muffled, “Yes a bit, only I can’t reach some areas,” proving that Peter’s listening in.  Derek rolls his eyes and goes back to exercising, leaving me standing there hoping to be able to get my hands on Peter’s body.

 

“You need a hand?” I ask in concern and hope I’ve hidden my eagerness enough.

 

He goes quiet so I improvise, “If you don’t want me touching you, maybe we could find something to help you reach those bits,” totally reasonable and not pushy.

 

“It’s mostly my back,” he says and I nod like he can fucking see me.

 

“Okay,” I just go along and wait for him to decide what he wants to do.

 

“If you could put the cream on for me,” he says and I know my heart is speeding up, I make a conscious effort to slow it down before I scare him off.

 

“However you’re comfortable, just tell me what you need,” I’m trying so hard to show him that the scars don’t bother me, that all I want is him, and that I’m willing to wait for him.

 

“I borrowed a pair of Derek’s shorts,” which are all black or grey and long in the leg, “They should let you put the cream on my back,” and give me the perfect chance to ogle him without being too much of a pervert, sometimes I forget he’s so much younger than me this time around.

 

“Okay, tell me when you’re ready,” and please let it be soon.

 

“I’m ready now,” he says and I hear the bathroom door open and he must flit into my bedroom because his heartbeat has moved locations.  I’m careful to walk slowly and calmly up the stairs to my room, I even knock on the open door, “It’s open,” he says like it’s his room.

 

He’s face down on the bed and he’s turned so his good side is to me, he’s hiding his facial scars, but the whole of his back is now on display as are the lower halves of his legs.

 

“So the trip to the doctors wasn’t too bad?” I ask him and put my bag down as casually as I can, I can smell the cream from here and I hope it helps, he’s a werewolf the scars shouldn’t hurt him, but he’s been complaining that they pull and they itch, so this should help him.

 

“He’s an idiot, but he’s pointed out some ‘surgery’ I can fake having so I can heal my scars a little bit at a time, to fade them out,” he wiggles on the bed, “They itch!”

 

“Well that’s good, I know it’s long term, but Peter, this way people won’t ask too many questions, you can just slip back into your life,” I point to the tub of cream he’s left of my desk and he nods. Urgh it smells horrible, I never realised how much stuff like this stinks, human noses just can’t pick up the notes hidden away like rotten fruit ready to pounce on the unwary werewolf’s nose.

 

“Hmm, we’ll see,” he grumbles and moves so he’s resting his head on his hands and I have an amazing view of his back, his ass and his legs, oh god we’ve had nights that started out like this.  Hurriedly I try and think of anything but those night and I know my scent is giving me away a little because I can see the side of his mouth and he’s smirking at me the bastard.

 

Kneeling on my bed I take some cream and spread it on his back, “Is that okay?” I ask him as I slowly rub it in, I take my time and he’s tense under my hands but by the end he’s starting to relax.

 

I’ve put the cream on and it’s gone in, I really want to keep rubbing his back, but I don’t want to push him or come across as creepy, and then he says, “Don’t’ stop, that was nice.”

 

I don’t have to be asked twice so I put more cream on his back, all of his back and I start giving him a very simple massage, one that he can’t interpret as sexual, I just like making him relax.  I like being here with him and neither of us is upset or hurt.

 

As the last of the cream goes in his breathing has relaxed and he’s on the verge of dozing off.  Putting the lid on the tub I place it back on my desk and then I deliberately lay down next to him on his scarred side, he has to move his face to see me and I can see all of his scars, they don’t detract from his eyes in the slightest.

 

“Thank you,” he murmurs.

 

“You’re welcome,” I smile at him and then sigh happily, this is what I’ve always wanted with him.  We’d have periods of it and then one of us would snark and we’d start fighting again, so much stupid shit we should have sorted out, and now I know more of his past I know what an insensitive bastard I was to him, why he was so hung up on his looks and vain, why he would push me to prove myself to him.

 

This time it’s going to be better.

 

We lay like that for an hour, I have to meditate most of the time because my ADHD is pushing at me, but it’s worth it to see how carefree and relaxed he is.  Downstairs Derek has moved on to doing sit ups, as if his own ridiculous abs aren’t perfect enough, and then I blink because maybe the he suffers from the same kind of insecurity Peter does.

 

Interesting.

 

I’m learning so much about them, things I never thought to question when I was younger, and to think I thought I was smart.  It’s strange how blind we can make ourselves.


	55. Chapter 55

Daydreaming in Math class, I doodle little pictures of cartoon wolves with cute captions and then rub them out with magic, no need to leave any impressions that could be used against my Pack.

 

“Mr Stilinski,” the teacher snaps at me and then points to the board, I really wasn’t paying attention too busy thinking about Peter and cream and mini massage sessions, “If you could solve this one please?”

 

The complete bastard has put a College level problem on the board, one of those ones they give to the bright geniuses, luckily I’ve had Lydia teach me, very impatiently I might add, so this is a breeze and a doddle.

 

Sauntering up the board I pretend to think and then start working it out, I’m in high school so I deliberately stop about half way through and turn to him, “Sorry I don’t know the end bit yet, is that okay so far?”

 

He’s gaping at me and nods, “Er, yes, that’s fine, please take your seat.”

 

Lydia’s glaring at me suspiciously so I give her as vapid a look as I can, it earns me an extra big glare and a glance from Jackson who starts to act territorial over her.  Idiot, I’m not interested in Lydia, not that way.

 

By the end of the day I’m eager to go home and get my hands on Peter again, he’s spent the last five days letting me rub cream on his back and I’ve been on my best behaviour, much to his amusement but he’s also smelling better when I touch him, he’s relaxing into my hands, he’s also looking forward to our sessions and is hinting that maybe we can step up our physical intimacy a notch.

 

He’s also jerking off in the shower every single day, and he says my name when he climaxes.  Derek is now fighting to get in the shower before either of us and has an offended expression his face if he has to go in afterwards.

 

This afternoon is my turn at grocery shopping, so the disgruntled agent assigned to me stomps around the shop with me and pushes the cart looking like he’d rather be anywhere else than here.  I even make him carry the groceries into the house for me.

 

Peter and Derek were going to another doctor’s appointment to see if the cream was doing anything and to talk about the surgery to lessen Peter’s scars for him.  Or really to talk about the surgery Peter will fake having.

 

There’s a voice message beeping for my attention but I ignore it as I put the food away and get something out for dinner, dad said he wouldn’t be late tonight and I’m looking forward to a family dinner.  I’m relenting on dad’s diet a bit because he’s been such a good boy, and there are alternatives he can have that are healthy and more meaty while a lot less tofu, because he hates that.  He’s going to be stoked over the bison I was able to get, okay so it ate into our budget but he’ll still like it.

 

When everything’s ready to go in the oven or on the stove I get around to tapping the button for the voice mail, really you’d think that the telephone sales people would give up, with the four of us in the house they’ve gotten quite the earful, dad’s polite but blunt, Peter winds them up and ties them up in little logic knots, Derek just grunts at them and then slams the phone down, and I use my lack of age as an excuse to tell them to push off.

 

The familiar beep of the message loading comes on followed by, “Mr Hale, this is the receptionist at Dr North’s.  We did hold your one o’clock appointment but since you didn’t show you’ll have to reschedule, please can you call us at your earliest convenience.”

 

That’s weird, Peter was optimistic about this appointment, and he wanted more cream because it’s working.  Derek’s also very prompt about appointments, he tends to hurry you out the door so you can arrive early, or lurk nearby to do a flashy entrance.

 

Hitting the speed dial on my cell phone I call Peter and it goes straight to voice mail, so does Derek’s.

 

It’s probably nothing, but I phone dad and get his office, the dispatcher tries to reach him on his radio, he had a short stop before coming home, and he’s not answering.  I try explaining about Peter and Derek too, she tries to placate me but promises to send a Deputy to be on the safe side.

 

There have been too many times in the past when things have gone crazy and we shrugged thinking everything was okay.  To be sure I call my friends and one by one I cycle through them only getting their voice mails, every single one of them.

 

Dad has a saying about steps and how quickly things move to a pattern, but all of my friends not answering isn’t a pattern, it’s a deliberate something, something that I’m worried about.

 

Hurrying I change into my armour and pull my normal clothes on over the top, then I call Chris Argent.  He’ll want to know his daughter is no longer picking up her phone, only his phone goes to voice mail too.

 

There is now officially something big going on.

 

Phoning dad’s work again I let them know that I can no longer get hold of anyone, that they are all going to voice mail, and in the background I can hear they’re starting to panic too.  The woman doesn’t tell me about dad only gives soothing platitudes but I overhear two people talking about how the cruiser was found abandoned with no sign of dad.  I thank the woman and hang up on her and then I let my wolf snarl and growl for a minute because someone has touched our family, our Pack, they’ve taken what’s ours and we’re going to get them back or else.

 

Grasping the plastic medallion I made I concentrate on Peter and Derek, on a general direction, on how they are, and then I let my spark loose.

 

I sense sadness, grief, ashes. I feel tired, lethargic and my senses are dulled down and muted. There’s a flash of movement and I think I see Isaac and Scott.  A sharp shock runs through me and someone is screaming ‘Howl’, even as I’m screaming ‘NO!’.

 

Shaking my head I blink and I know where they are, Peter and Derek are being held near the old Hale house.  Someone has used wolfsbane on them and is using electricity to try to get them to howl.

 

I’m fairly certain that someone is Gerard or Kate, or both.

 

Both of them are very good Hunters for a reason so I take my phone and turn the GPS on it off, and then I wrap it in another spell, one to hide its location, so even if they hack the system it will show as being here in this house.

 

Then I scan the surroundings and head out of the backdoor, I need an ally to help me and all I can think of right now is Deaton, he’ll want to protect Scott, he needs a true Alpha, one that rises because of who he is not the power he can steal or take.

 

Running fast I add a humming spell to make people look the other way as I pass and I reach the vets only to slam into all the mountain ash he has built into the building.  I let myself in the front and then try to get his attention, it’s best if I don’t sneak in the back, he’s more likely to listen if I’m polite.

 

“Stiles,” and Alan is his usual calm annoying self.

 

“Alan.  Someone’s taken my Pack members, all of them, even the humans.  I’ve sensed where Peter and Derek are, but all I get are impressions of someone hurting them and trying to get them to howl,” part of me wants to leap over the barrier and shake him while I scream, the other part continues to outline the problem.

 

“That’s a very serious problem you have there Stiles,” and the bastard is not giving away a fucking thing. I’ve no idea if he’ll help me or not, or if he’ll simply dispense really cryptic ideas and then leave me to flounder.

 

My phone rings, its Scott’s ring tone, I pretend I don’t know that Scott’s missing, “Hey Scott, buddy, I tried to get hold of you earlier, you wanna do a Halo match later?”  Alan opens the barrier up and walks closer to me, I let him lean in to listen to the conversation.

 

“Oh I’m sorry,” and yep that’s Gerard, “Young Scott is a bit tied up at the moment, he can’t come to the phone right now.  But if you come to the remains of the Hale den you could ask him yourself in person.”

 

“Who are you?” I ask acting the teenager, “I’m phoning my dad, he’s the Sheriff here so this had better be a prank,” I threaten because I really want to know where my dad is right now.

 

“Oh I wouldn’t worry about your dad, he’s here too, as are all of your Pack and your little friends Stiles, so get your Alpha wolf behind here like a good little boy and I’ll let them all go,” and then Gerard adds, “I’ll send you a nice little video of them in a few minutes, it might spur you on, you have an hour to get here, and don’t think of going to the cops or I’ll kill your dad.”  He then hangs up as I start growling under my breath.


	56. Chapter 56

My phone chirps to let me know I have a video pending and I hit play as Alan stands silently beside me, he’s still dodging about helping so maybe I can get some supplies off of him instead.  I’m capable of taking down two humans on my own, I just need more of an idea of the lay of the land.  Hopefully this video will give me that.

 

Opening the file and playing it I can see I was right, it is the Hale house, or just to one side of it anyway, I’ve been there enough times as a teen, and strangely the incident with the molotov cocktail and killing Peter has seared it into my brain forever.

 

Gerard is fairly straightforward, he simply swings the camera in Scott’s phone from the left to the right.  I can see my friends bunched to one side, they look unhurt but frightened.  My dad and Chris are tied up by their hands which are then strung up to the branch of a tree, they aren’t hanging, which is good, just standing.  Dad is looking around thoughtfully and there’s what appears to be a big mottled bruise on his face, I’ll pay that one back with interest.  Chris is fuming and he’s gagged too.  Victoria is standing beside him completely free and she’s glaring to the other side where I see Peter and Derek and one big fucking surprise or six.

 

I was expecting to see mountain ash being used to restrain the werewolves, it’s probably one of the few things able to hold Peter as an Alpha werewolf. Instead there are six gargoyles there. Literally stone given a false type of life with wings that will allow them to fly and I’ve fought them before, they beat Derek up easily then, so I know they’re strong, strong enough to hold an Alpha wolf in place.

 

The last thing on the video is Kate smirking at Derek beside a very non-descript looking man, though I know the man must be a necromancer because of the gargoyles, they’re the only type of magic user than can animate and give ‘life’ to the lifeless.

 

“Well that changes things,” Deaton’s studying the video too, “Play it again Stiles, we’re going to have to bring some things to destroy the gargoyles and we don’t have a lot of time.”

 

And I just scored Alan.

 

After watching again I follow him though the lowered barrier to the back, I’m worried about everyone and I’m pissed as fuck at Gerard and Kate for even daring to think about hurting those I love. I’m also angry because I went to a lot of trouble to come back through time to keep them safe, to give them another life, to protect them from all this supernatural shit.

 

“You’re growling,” Alan points out and I stop, not that I want to.

 

At this point in my teen life Alan had spent years trying to forget the supernatural, right up until the future and fate tapped Scott on the shoulder and the world resonated with his werewolfiness, this time around it won’t have happened but clearly Alan knew about Scott anyway.  I’m not expecting a huge amount from the man but I’ll take whatever back up I can get right now.

 

I’m a match for the three Argents.  I could probably take the necromancer at the same time too.  But six gargoyles would be difficult on a good day.  I’m also curious as hell as to what Alan has that will tip the battle in our favour.

 

He bypasses the normal area and goes to a special safe that’s built out of mountain ash and was designed to blend so well with the walls that no one could easily find it.  He opens it and I’ve never known what’s in there, he rummages and then pulls out some twigs and vials.

 

Putting them on the metal examination table he tilts his head, “These should take care of the gargoyles, if you think you can use them,” I examine the twigs and vials being careful not to touch them and then I grin because these will annihilate the gargoyles.

 

“Perfect, thank you Alan, they’ll more than do the job,” I’m exceedingly careful how I handle the six twigs and six vials, no need to have them go off prematurely, I have no interest in either burning to death or freezing solid.  “How did you get pieces of a phoenix’s nest or tears from a front giant?”

 

“I have my contacts and over the years people have repaid favours with them,” is all he tells me but it’s enough.

 

“Thanks, I know how much they’re worth, I’ll be as sparing as I can be with them, if there are any left over I’ll bring them back,” because these things cost a fortune.

 

“I have something else for you,” he walks over to the normal cabinets, “I’d really prefer you didn’t kill the Argents, but they’re too deadly to leave loose during a fight,” he’s pulling out syringes and starts filling them with what I assume are tranquilizers.  That’s smart, I can get in close and use them against the Argents removing them from the fight quickly and a lot less messily. 

 

Also I want the Argents to suffer, I want them to live long enough to rot in prison, to never be free, to have their stories plastered all over the news, I want their name dragged through the mud and dishonoured so they never recover from it. I can’t do that if they’re dead, and killing them is the only other way to get them out of a fight as fast as possible.

 

“The necromancer will have to die,” I point out, “We can’t allow him to live, the things he’ll make will plague everyone.”  It’s like an unwritten rule, kill the necromancers or otherwise you have golems, gargoyles, and zombies all over the place.

 

“Agreed,” Alan doesn’t argue with the violent and fatal option which is a bit freaky.

 

“Okay, so I should be going then,” I’m more careful with how I handle the syringes than I am about the magical items, I really don’t like needles.

 

“I’ll give you a ten minute head start, then I’ll follow, I might not be able to do much but I can probably suppress the necromancer or free some of the people,” and I know I look shocked because he never volunteers to get his hands dirty.  “Stiles there’s a necromancer, I’m involved whether I like it or not.”

 

“Okay, not arguing,” I hold my hands up to Alan in surrender, and I won’t factor him in on my plans, “See you up there man.”  And then I walk away, my phone will still be showing me at home so I lope through the woods and then swing around to come up to the Hale house via the main entrance, they’ll be expecting me and while several plans are flitting through my head my main weaknesses are all the hostages that have been taken.

 

Strolling up the drive I shove my hands in my hoodie’s pockets and slump like a defeated teenage werewolf who’s in over his head.  All the while I circle around my end game and the moves open to me.

 

Everyone I love, and probably Chris too or else Allison will be upset, are to get out of his alive.  Everyone else dies or is going done with tranquilisers, and that includes Allison’s mom, I’m done trying play nicely with that bitch, she’s betrayed her own husband and daughter, though I’m leaving a question mark over Chris until proved otherwise, just in case he’s in on this.

 

The things I have at my advantage are rapidly dwindling, the fact that Gerard knows I’m not only a werewolf but also the Alpha means that either Victoria or Chris told him, or he guessed because both Peter and Derek’s eyes are blue not red.  I don’t know if he knows about my magic, but the necromancer will sense it the moment I use any, so I’ll have to hit hard and fast when I use them, I have Alan’s supplies which I’ll fall back on for the gargoyles.

 

My time travelling trick should be the only thing they’re not aware of, that and everything I’ve accumulated in my long life.  I know that rushing in is a stupid thing to do, but Gerard has kept the time limit short for a reason, to stop me from being able to plan ahead.

 

It’s a good thing I’m so practiced at making shit up as I go along.

 

Wiping the smirk off of my face I use my werewolf senses to scan ahead and some very familiar heartbeats are exactly where I’m expecting them to be.  Speeding up I trot along the path and then grind to an uncoordinated halt like I’m afraid and don’t know what to do next.

 

Everything is exactly the same as the video he sent and Gerard is doing his best harmless impression, “Ah and here is the Alpha of the hour, Stiles Stilinski!”

 

That makes everyone turn to look at me, I give a small wave, “Yep, I’m here, now let them go, you said if I came you’d let them go,” I add a small quiver to my voice and act like I’m bluffing my bravado.

 

There are a few gasps from people and my name is said by most of them, not Chris, he’s still gagged, and tied up, but it could have been an attempt at my name.

 

“Show me your eyes first,” Gerard commands and I tilt my head, “I need to know I’ve got the right werewolf and then we can negotiate properly.”

 

“But you said…” I try to point out like I’m a helpless little puppy.

 

“Your eyes first,” Gerard barks it and I remember him snarling at me in the basement all those years ago, I shrug that off and let my eyes glow, through the magic of my pendant they’ll be red and more gasps ring out from people.  “Perfect,” Gerard’s smile is shockingly normal, he should practice his evil villain smile in the mirror more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys no update tomorrow, the fight scenes aren’t going well, work is hell, RL is hell, gonna settle this weekend and try to get this sorted out.


	57. Chapter 57

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah ignoring any and all season 3 spoilers re Derek and his real (?) age… Plus do you know how hard it is to write fight scenes? Urgh.

“Stiles?” Both dad and Scott say my name at the same time and look devastated.

 

I have to continue being the idiot teen so I tell them, “It’s okay, it’s going to be okay, I’m gonna get you out of this,” Scott won’t understand and will hopefully believe me, as will the other kids.  Dad’s a cop he knows better, he knows they’ve all seen Gerard’s face, they’re not getting out of this alive.

 

Kate chooses that point to laugh, “Oh they’ll be okay,” she lies, “But you and your little Pack won’t be,” she moves closer to Derek who’s held in a kneeling position by two gargoyles and he snarls at her, “Oh Derek, baby, we had such good times together, and I’m going to enjoy this last little romp too.”

 

“Leave him alone,” Peter says far too calmly, “Isn’t it bad enough you seduced him when he was too young to know better?  Then you burnt our entire family alive, I thought Hunters protected humans but you killed them too.”

 

She laughs again, “They were tainted by you, by wolves, they had to be cleansed too.  All humans that hang around wolves should die too, we can’t let the taint spread.”

 

And her own words condemn her.  I’m standing in front of everyone so I get to see Chris whip his head around to glare at his sister, and even Victoria falters for a second, I don’t trust her to have a change of heart and I keep her on my hit list.  Kate’s also confirmed to me that they’ll kill all of the witnesses after Gerard gets what he wants from me.  I don’t think I’m the only one to work that out, Dad, Allison and Boyd are frowning like they can see through her too.

 

“Kate,” Gerard’s voice is soft but the command is there, “Enough,” he gives me one of his fake smiles, “Now Stiles, you don’t want anyone you care about to get hurt, so I’ll tell you what I want from you, and then you’ll give it to me, and we’ll part ways.”

 

I notice how he doesn’t tell me how we’ll part ways, so it’s not technically a lie.

 

“O…Okay,” I nod, “Please don’t hurt them, please, I’ll do anything you ask,” and neither Derek nor Peter give any sign I just lied to Gerard.

 

“That’s good,” he’s being encouraging, “It’s a very small, simple little thing, but it’s very important,” and he’s talking to me like I’m five.  “I need you to give me the Bite,” I blink at him and take a step back.

 

Shaking my head I let stress show in my voice, “But I’m not supposed to Bite people.  And it could kill you, I don’t want to kill you.” I really don’t want to kill him I want him to suffer painfully and die by inches as I watch his body eat him alive.

 

“Oh Stiles,” Gerard smiles at him, “You really are a good boy aren’t you,” and he really doesn’t know me.  Behind him both dad and Scott are frowning, because they do know me, well the old me and I’m really out of character right now.  “It’s okay Stiles, your Bite won’t kill me, I have cancer, I’m dying anyway, you’re the only cure I have left, and I’ve made sure to dose myself with a special type of plant that flowers only at night, it guarantees that I’ll turn into a werewolf, that I won’t die from the Bite.”

 

“You have cancer?” I widen my eyes, “Like my mom?  And the Bite can save you?” I take a deliberate step forward.

 

“Stiles no!” That’s dad, he smells worried and afraid, “Don’t do what he wants,” and I have to stand there as Victoria back hands.  Hmm I may give her too many tranquillisers, by accident, Allison will totally buy into that.

 

“Now, now Sheriff,” Gerard foolishly takes his eyes off of me, in fact everyone is staring at dad, so I can slip a few syringes into position, “Stiles is being completely reasonable, and that’s good, he wants to save you, to protect you, in fact I’m sure he’d even die for you or any of his little friends.”

 

There are a few gasps from them and dad just glowers at Gerard.

 

“All I want from him is a Bite, because the Bite of an Alpha will make me a werewolf, and I really want to heal my cancer,” Gerard is being reasonable and as he turns back to me he misses the frown on Victoria’s face.  Turning into a werewolf is one of the worst things a Hunter can do, last time Victoria took her own life instead of turning.  Kate is busy staring at Derek and doesn’t seem to notice anything.  The necromancer looks bored.

 

“So that’s it?” I query, “I just Bite you and then everyone can go home?  They’ll be okay?”  I need him to say the words, to lie to me.

 

“Stiles,” he chides me, “Bite me and everything will work out just fine,” that gets a reaction from Scott, his dad is a first grade asshole, he used to promise Scott without coming out and saying the words and then he’d tell Scott not to assume things and that isn’t what he said.  It’s one of the reason Scott and me bonded so well, I tend to be fairly straight forward if complicated.

 

“Okay, I’ll Bite you,” I promise Gerard and get ready to jab him with a needle, that will take him out of the fight.  My next two targets are Kate and Victoria.  I’m faster as a werewolf than I used to be, and a bit of careful magic will help me remove them without them hurting my Pack.

 

That will allow me to turn my attention to the necromancer.  Once I kill him his six gargoyles will ignore their last orders and they’ll focus totally on me, I have room then to use Alan’s supplies to take them out, plus Derek and Peter will be free to help me and Dad will be free to get the others to safety.

 

It’s nowhere near a good plan, or perfect, but I need to free my Pack.

 

In front of me Gerard holsters his gun and starts to roll the sleeve of his right arm up.  So this is going the same way as last time. Behind him everyone is watching, apart from the gargoyles, four of them are still holding their prisoners and the other two are resting, but they can move pretty fucking fast.

 

“Here you go son,” Gerard holds his right arm up and out to me.

 

Taking my cue I take hesitating steps forward and let my fangs out, doing that transforms my whole face and my eyes will be glowing red continuing the charade of my Alphaness.  I ignore the gasps from my Pack I’ll make it up to them later.

 

Reaching Gerard I open my mouth and let him slide his right arm up to my mouth, it incidentally causes him to leave his right side undefended, so as I Bite down gently, I also stab his right side with two needles, I need to make sure he goes down for the count, and then my plan goes to shit.

 

He’s wearing some kind of body armour, it’s thin but it’s good enough to deflect the damn needles and I get to see him grin like a predator just before he fucking shoots me at point blank range in my gut with the gun in his left hand.

 

The impact from him empting the clip into me makes me jerk and I try to bite down on his arm but he’s gotten it out of range of my teeth.  Thank god for my body armour, because those impacts hurt like a son of a bitch and I let myself crumble to the ground with a comical expression of surprise.

 

People are screaming in the background, I hiss, “I’m good,” under my breath but someone’s still howling and snarling.  I think it’s Peter, or it could be Derek.  I open my eyes just a slit so I can get some idea of what the hell is going on as I rapidly start to reformulate my plan.

 

Gerard is that confident that he’s won that he turns around without checking on me first and I hide my smirk and breathe as shallowly as possible.

 

“Well, well, well,” that’s Gerard’s gloating tone, “Two Hales left in the world and both of you still have blue eyes.  You know what that means? I’m the Alpha now,” and it sounded so much better when Derek said it, or even when Scott said it.

 

“So kill them,” and that’s Victoria, “You’ve taken the Alpha out, kill the Betas and then finish it. Kill yourself and this vipers nest is gone for good,” wow she does not understand Gerard at all, I really want to be able to see her face when she gets double crossed but I’m lying slightly in the wrong direction, damn it.

 

The sound of a gun cocking has me opening my eyes to see where Gerard is aiming.  Luckily his back is to me, but he’s aiming at Peter and my heartbeat speeds up.  I can only see a bit of Peter and he’s fighting to get free of the stone holding him prisoner.  “Victoria, you have to learn to see the bigger picture,” and the gun moves away from Peter and even further over, a single gunshot rings out, “And there goes the only other person who could stop me,” I don’t hear any heartbeats stop, what just happened?

 

Gerard is muttering words, an offshoot of Latin, but the bad type of Latin, and then he laughs, “And now the happily deceased necromancer is gone the gargoyles are mine. Seize them!”

 

Stone makes a really weird noise when it moves and then two separate guns are shooting and impacting on stone, and I know for a fact that will do almost nothing to the gargoyles. I have to know what’s going on and I shift my head in time to see the last two gargoyles pounce, one on Kate, and the other on Victoria.  They grasp the women’s arms and hold them prisoner, while Gerard stands there holding what looks like a human thigh bone.

 

“Gerard!” Victoria yells, “Let me go, I’m the matriarch of this family, I demand you obey me,” and I’m not sure if she realises just how screwed she is right now.

 

“No, Victoria, I can’t do that, I have some things to do first and listening to you isn’t one of them. Though killing you is one of those things.  I haven’t gone to all this trouble to get Bitten and then kill the Alpha just to commit suicide, how weak and stupid do you think I am?”

 

“The Code…” Victoria starts, but Gerard waves her words away.

 

“Is a pointless outdated excuse for us to kill.  Haven’t you ever stopped to think about it?  We hunt those who hunt us.  What kind of idiot came up with that?  We don’t stick to the Code, we never stick to the Code, we adjust it to suit us and our need to kill,” and I can’t believe I’m listening to this right now.  Gerard would be the one Hunter that did think about the Code and realise how useless it is.

 

“Kate slaughtered the Hales, set their whole house on fire and got all but three of them,” Gerard is being patient and that worries me, “Who in the council cared? No one.  Not one hunter came to investigate.  You don’t have a family made up of werewolves and humans die like that, and the council did nothing.  We hunt down werewolves, we kill them whenever we can, we use tools that only torturers use, we teach our children to kill and to enjoy it.  We are the monsters Victoria, after all don’t you wonder what Chris gets up to with Allison?  Why she started shying away from him for a while, until she got used to him going to her room to start teaching her the true Argent way?”

 

Oh.

 

My.

 

God.

 

I really think he just said what he did and I blink and remember to half close my eyes, I’m supposed to be dead.

 

“What?” Victoria sounds shocked and then she turns to her husband, “Chris?”

 

Still held by ropes Chris is shaking his head and he struggles in his bonds some more as Allison blurts out, “No, dad has never done what I think you’re saying.”

 

“Oh Chris,” Gerard’s shoulders slump, “You are still such a disappointment to me, so weak, so willing to protect others instead of taking what is rightfully yours.  From everything I’ve seen you’ve not even told little Allison about werewolves, about how her family murders them whenever it can, you’ve not taught her to kill, or main, or torture, you’ve left her weak.

 

“But I can use weak, I can mould her from this baseless clay and turn her into a true Argent.  I can make her one of the best Hunters and Matriarchs we’ve ever known and one day she’ll wrest the mantle of Alpha from my bloody bleeding corpse and that will be a good day,” he sounds pleased at that thought and I think I can smell arousal, I really hope I can’t though.

 

Chris is still struggling and making as much noise as he can.  I might not be able to hear his words but I’m getting the gist that Gerard can go off and die somewhere because Chris is not letting him near his daughter, ever.

 

It would be more impressive if he wasn’t tied to a tree branch with his hands over his head.

 

With Victoria and Kate caught by the gargoyles I now have only one target I need to take out, Gerard.  He thinks he’s an Alpha werewolf on the edge of turning, he thinks I’m dead, I have a big advantage and I don’t want to waste it.

 

“And until that day comes I’ll amuse myself by hunting down the Hunters, I know all of the main families I have access to more knowledge than all of you put together, there will be no where you can hide from me, and I will finally hunt those that always hunt us first,” tensing my shoulders I get ready to spring at him.  “Goodbye Victoria, I’ll just kill you all now and take Allison with me.”

 

Over my dead body.

 

And then the gargoyles let Victoria and Kate go as a male voice I’ve not heard before says, “No Gerard, you won’t.  My gargoyles will rip you apart and I will use the death of an Alpha werewolf to raise the dead, I’ll get my daughter back and you’ll lose everything.”

 

“Hmm, you wore a vest,” Gerard is somewhat impressed, “I’ll just shoot you in the head this time Teddy,” and what is it with this people and wearing armour?  Only I’m supposed to be wearing armour, it’s not fair when the bad guys do that too.

 

“Not this time Gerard, I think there’s two people who want a word with you first,” and the man is confident, just before a single shot rings out and Gerard jerks and slumps down the smell of blood filling the air.  “I think your daughter and daughter-in-law have something to say.”

 

To my surprise I also see Derek and Peter move towards Chris and my dad, they swiftly cut them down and Peter may rip the tape off of Chris’ mouth with no warning.  He can be a bastard like that.  They herd them towards the teens and stand in front of them like living meat shields, suddenly things are looking up.

 

“No,” Gerard is holding a hand to his leg, “No, I won’t die, I’m an Alpha, the only wolfsbane bullets were with me.  I’ll heal from this and then I’m going to kill you all.”

 

Victoria has her gun back and her and Kate move steadily towards Gerard, each of them aiming at areas that won’t be covered by his armour.  The bleeding isn’t stopping and Gerard seems to understand he’s been played and then his gun is pointing at the teens and he fires.

 

I’m up and moving as fast as I can but I’m not fast enough as a Beta, Peter’s an Alpha and intercepts most of them with his body, Derek takes a few to his chest and slumps to the ground in front of Allison.

 

My roar is deafening but Peter’s is louder, “DEREK!” He spins and falls to his knees checking his nephew’s body even as Victoria and Kate end Gerard forever.  He’s human he won’t come back from that.

 

Hurrying over to Derek and my family it’s a bit chaotic but I breathe a sigh of relief when I discover the bullets are normal ones, they aren’t wolfsbane.  Derek will live, as will Peter, who’s already healing from them, the show off.

 

“Stiles,” and then Isaac is throwing himself into a hug with me, I catch him and hold him tightly, but not too tightly, “He shot you, we saw him shoot you, and then you fell down,” he smells strongly of fear and pain.

 

“I’m okay Isaac, my dad is a cop, I got my hands on some body armour, I’m just bruised, I’m good,” I reassure him and none of my other friends are coming anywhere near me, they’re keeping their distance, not that I blame them.

 

“And Derek?” Isaac looks over to him, “Will he be okay too?”

 

Groaning Derek sits up, with Peter’s assistance, “Yeah, I’m okay Isaac, they’ll heal,” he looks a bit surprised when Isaac lets go of me and hugs him instead.  He hesitantly puts his arm around for one of those awkward bro hug things, “I’m fine Isaac, I’m okay.  I didn’t see them hurt any of you, are you okay?” He twists slightly to look at the others who are staring at him like he has two heads.

 

“I can’t smell blood, but there is bruising and they’ll be shaken up,” Peter enters into the conversation.  “We need to get them out of here and home safely, and we need to clear up the mess Gerard has made, I think the Sheriff can be persuaded to help hide his body, but there’s still Kate to deal with, perhaps she could exile herself far away from her family and continue to elude the manhunts currently underway.”

 

And with that simple gesture Peter proves to me that he’s already on the way to sanity, that he isn’t clinging to revenge and madness, this time it’s going to be different, better, and I want nothing more than to pounce on him right now and snuggle the shit of out him before ravaging him within an inch of his life.

 

“How sweet,” the necromancer Teddy interrupts us, “But it seems I don’t have what I came for, so if the little Teen Alpha could come here I’ll kill him quickly and the rest of you can go, but if you interfere I’ll kill you too.”

 

He’s the most boring guy I’ve ever seen, you wouldn’t look twice at him, except he’s being flanked by six frigging gargoyles, all posed just so and I’m sure Derek’s been giving lessons in being a diva, maybe I’ll make the suggestion after we get out of this, watching his face is going to be amusing as hell.

 

“Sorry,” Peter moves slowly and deliberately in front of all of us, “We have a pressing engagement elsewhere, and we’ll all be leaving now,” he waves a hand behind himself and we take the hint and start moving, well most of us do, some of us are grabbed by the others and dragged backwards away from the necromancer.

 

“Little Beta wolf, step aside, think of the benefits, you or the other wolf will get a very big upgrade soon,” the man tries to smile but it’s hard, brittle, not right.

 

“And what do you get?” Peter asks as he continues to cover our retreat, Derek and I go last with the two women with guns also covering us, and I keep my eye on them and the necromancer at the same time.

 

“I get my family back Mr Hale,” Teddy’s smile gets bigger, “I know you know what it means to lose your loved ones, and I really want my daughter back again.  The power of an Alpha as they die can give me all the power I need to bring her back to me.  So one of you gets to be the Alpha instead of having it stolen from you by a boy, and I get my beautiful Emma back.”

 

“That is a powerful argument you’re making,” Peter’s backing up now and we all edge away, “But I’m afraid we decline your wonderful invitation, we’ll keep things the way they are, thank you, good luck finding an Alpha to kill.”

 

“Too bad,” Teddy does a very under rated flick of his wrist, “Kill the boy, if the others get in your way kill them too,” and the gargoyles leap forward their wings spread as they glide silently towards us.

 

With the hunters temporarily doing a team up with us I have only one pressing enemy to take care of, and that’s the necromancer.  If I can remove him from the battle the gargoyles will go for his killer, but if I can disable him they’ll act stupid, and stupid is good, stupid makes mistakes as they hunt me down.

 

Slipping two more syringes out I take my own leap forward and time it to duck and roll under the lead wave of living stone flying above me, claws rake at me but my armour holds and I grab the man’s leg ripping the cloth there to make sure there’s skin underneath, there is so I pump him full of tranquillizers and he stumbles away from me.  In moments he’ll be asleep until then I have to dodge like crazy.

 

I break to the left and the whistling of something missing me has me rolling as stone legs nearly catch me with their talons.  My name is screamed by a few people and then howled by Derek.

 

“Keep them away, keep them back, protect them,” I scream back and then whisper, “Please, the gargoyles will concentrate on me, I have something to stop them, trust me.”

 

“Fine,” Derek huffs as I bolt right and get around a tree fast enough that the gargoyle right behind smashes into it and the tree shakes but stays standing, just.  It does give me time to whip out a twig and I bring my own spark out to play, I concentrate on the nearest gargoyle and think of heat, not just any heat, the heat of a phoenix nest, of new born life, of that moment when stone itself will start to melt and I mentally throw it at the gargoyle.  Normally this kind of power is far beyond me, but a twig from the nest of a phoenix carries that special type of heat, I’m just letting it out.

 

It hits the gargoyle silently and the only clue that anything is happening is the fact the gargoyle’s body changes colour just enough to indicate that it’s getting hot, the second clue is the way it makes a strange plinking noise partly due the rapid expansion going on, that and the way the very outside of is starts to melt a little bit like wax.

 

The twig worked like a charm.

 

Now for the frost.

 

Grasping a vial I unleash cold worse that any artic winter, cold that surpasses the Antarctic on a bad day, cold that hits hard and fast.  Cold that shrinks the supernaturally heated stone to the point that large cracks appears and the gargoyle wobbles slightly but keeps coming.

 

It just needs a strong blow to shatter it now, except I’m too busy evading the other gargoyles who have closed in on me.  My armour takes the brunt of the attacks but they are getting through and I might be a werewolf but that really stings like fuck and I get the horrible view of watching my blood spray upwards at one point.

 

Fleeing from them I’m startled when a big tree branch moves and then sweeps back impacting on some of the gargoyles and buying me time.  “Alan,” I mutter under my breath, “Better late than never.”

 

With his help I’m able to get ahead of the gargoyles again, but I still can’t get to the one I need to shatter, I have spells I could use but they’ll drain me and I need my magic to use the twigs and vials on the others.

 

Shots ring out and the gargoyle in question bursts apart and the rubble falls to the ground inert and no longer homicidally inclined.  I look over to where the shooter is to see dad, he’s glaring at his gun and muttering, “Shit I’m out, who has any bullets left?”

 

Chris, Victoria, Kate, Peter and Derek are running up behind him.

 

“I thought you were getting them to safety?” I whine and hold up the same twig, there’s enough left in it for one more go.

 

“They argued and I wasn’t going to leave you,” Peter says, “You still have five gargoyles to finish off Stiles, I’d suggest you hurry up.”

 

Annoyed I unleash the last of the heat from the phoenix nest twig and the gargoyle acts the same as the first and then I freeze it and those satisfying cracks appear again.  This time Kate and Chris have to use up their remaining bullets to kill the gargoyle.

 

The third one falls and Victoria is out of ammo too. Now they have metal paperweights they can throw at the hunks of living stone. 

 

“Keep going,” Peter yells, “Derek and I have the end move covered.”  I get a flash of Derek giving Peter a look that says he has no idea what Peter means and then I’m running for my life again.

 

Alan manages to get the local flora to move away so I can run through easier and then whips it back to impede my pursuers, it doesn’t do much but a second is all I need to back flip up and over one of them to land on the middle one and throw heat at the last one.  That’s quickly followed by ice and then I’m running again.  I pass Peter and Derek as they’re running towards the gargoyles, god I hope they don’t get themselves killed.

 

Behind me I hear the gargoyle splinter into pieces and Peter cursing, “Son of a bitch!”

 

Skidding around a tree I see him cradling his hand and grimacing.

 

“Peter!” I daren’t get too close to him.

 

“Keep going Stiles, just two more, this time I won’t punch it one handed, I’ll use both,” is all I get in return. 

 

The next gargoyle is set up for Peter and this time I get to watch as Peter runs at Derek, who flips backwards and propels Peter at the gargoyle, he puts his hands together and then smashes them into the torso of the gargoyle who shatters at the blow of an Alpha werewolf.  I’ve seen Derek punch through rock before, I know he broke his hands at the time so I know Peter’s broken his as well.

 

“Crap, Peter doubles over and pants, “One more Stiles, just one more and then we kill the necromancer.”

 

Tree branches whip around me and catch the gargoyle interrupting its flight, I run around a bit more to give Peter a chance to heal and then I turn to face the last remaining gargoyle.  I aim a twig and I’m glad I’ve not used them all up, they really do cost a fortune.  Releasing the vial afterwards I head towards a waiting Derek and Peter.

 

I fall and roll so I get to see Peter twist in mid-air and then kick the damn gargoyle, he rolls when he hits the ground among the remains of the gargoyle and gets up brushing his clothes like nothing major happened.

 

“Fuck, Peter,” I breathe out and then stroll towards him, “That was a kick babe, I wish I had that one on video,” He preens and poses slightly.

 

“Thank you Stiles, I wish I could have caught you on camera too, you were amazing, your zigging and zagging had me worried for a while but you evaded them so well,” he praises me too and saunters towards me.  When he reaches me he pulls me into a hug, “And don’t ever do that again, I thought I’d lost you when Gerard shot you and then again when you leapt at the necromancer.”

 

“Peter, I travelled back decades for all of you, you’re not getting rid of me that easily,” I hug him back, “Come on we have to go check on Derek and the others and come up with a cover story while dodging murderous hunters and disposing of the necromancer too.”

 

Turning to walk back he slings an arm around my waist, so I put mine around his shoulders.  Derek is already standing up and glaring at his leather jacket and the holes in it, he glares at the broken pieces of rock littering the ground and then growls in annoyance.

 

“I’ll fix it bro,” I whisper, “It’ll be good as new before you know it.”  I’ll fix everything somehow, I’m must not sure how just yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I take it back, fight scenes are impossible and I apologise for these ones, *headdesk*


	58. Chapter 58

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we’re back to the normal sized chapters. Thank you for your kind words and encouragement on the last chapter.

Approaching the group of hunters, and my dad, I’m really glad the hunters are out of ammo right now.  They’re still incredibly dangerous but we have the advantage if we need to press it, plus I still have left over twigs and vials I know how to use.

 

“Stiles?” Dad is staring at me, “Are you okay?” He’s worried but also freaking out, I’m guessing about the big werewolf reveal.

 

“I’m okay dad, they caught me a couple of times but it’s already healing, one of the few benefits of being a werewolf,” I try to downplay it and he nods a bit shakily.

 

A really awkward silence settles over us and Peter almost leans into me as he turns his head to snuffle my shoulder, it pulls at something inside of me and I sniff him back, before Derek looms behind us and his arms are soon around us as well, his snuffling is a bit more discrete though.

 

I’m a little weirded out when Peter nips at my chin, I feel like that’s something I should be doing to him as Derek is rubbing his face into the back of my neck, and that feels nice.  And then Peter exposes the long, thick side of his neck to me and I leisurely bite it, he’s submitting to me at least outwardly and my wolf revels in the trust our Alpha is showing us, that and it feels like the prelude to sexy times.  Derek also exposes his neck but when I nip at his it feels more like I’m dominant to him and I get strong protective vibes towards him.

 

“What are they doing?” Dad asks stunned.  We pull back at that but Peter still manages to get a hand on my ass for one careful squeeze that no one else but Derek would notice.

 

“Scenting each other,” Chris is also a bit freaked out, “Submitting to the Alpha, which is Stiles, strengthen the Pack bonds between them, I’ve never seen it before though.”

 

“Perhaps because you’re always murdering werewolves,” Peter tightens his hold on my t-shirt, “Most people don’t show their weaker sides in front of enemies, but we do need to reconnect, we are a new Pack, with a new Alpha,” and he swoops back to nuzzle me, as does Derek and I kinda bask in their attentions.

 

“Huh,” Dad is staring at us thoughtfully, “We’ll talk about that later then, right now we have one dead body and someone that told flying statues to attack so we should secure him before sending him to jail, though god knows what I’m going to put on the paperwork.”

 

“Actually,” Victoria shakes herself and stands up straight, “We’ll just put the necromancer down, they’re evil little monsters, and they’re creations are hard to destroy.”

 

“Monsters like my son is now a monster?” Dad questions and my stomach clenches at him calling me a monster, “Because from where I was standing it looked a lot like the hunters are the monsters.”

 

Wow, score one for dad.  Chris just looks tired, Victoria like she’s bitten something rotten and Kate for once seems lost.

 

“For once I agree with the hunters,” Peter steps in, “If they didn’t keep making things and letting them lose to terrorise their neighbourhoods, we could live peacefully with necromancers, but they do make things, and they do let them out, and people die and get hurt far too often.  It’s also upsetting when they empty whole graveyards of people turning them into zombies.”

 

Dad is not happy but he’s reserving judgement right now and we all troop over to the sleeping necromancer as vines creep down the nearest tree and the loud crack of his neck breaking startles us.  I didn’t know Alan could do that and I glance around trying to find his heartbeat, of course he knows how to hide that so I shout out, “Can you clean up after yourself too?”  I should know better than to annoy him because the trees rustle all around us before the body of the necromancer is swallowed up by the earth and it’s like he was never there.

 

“Cool,” I nod and get to see the hunters acting worried even as dad takes a few steps closer to me.  “THANKS!” I yell out and the trees rustle again and go quiet, I’m guessing that Alan will go home and rest now, he might be strong but that kind of magic takes its toll, or else he used the tree equivalent of the twigs and vials I’m still carrying.

 

Clearing his throat Chris asks, “So that was why the trees moved the way they did with the gargoyles?”

 

“Yep,” I struggle to keep the smug off of my face, no need to antagonise him, I can be a good winner when I have to be.

 

“Right, in that case we can handle Gerard, no one will ever find him, we’ll cut him in half and burn the pieces separately to be on the safe side,” And Mr Argent steps up to do the clean-up duty on this one, he doesn’t even look for anyone’s approval, “And Kate will be caught trying to sneak back into Beacon Hills, she’ll let herself be taken alive and then she’ll stand trial and go to jail for the rest of her life.”  Victoria shakes her head at what he’s said.

 

It also gets a reaction from Kate, “Oh come on Chris, there’s no reason for me to go to jail, none at all, they’re just animals that I put down…”

 

“You attacked humans too Kate, you broke the Code, you killed innocents and don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy it, because now I’m wondering just how like Gerard you are,” Chris is furious, “I trusted you to spend time with Allison, alone, there’s all kinds of things you could have done to her Kate, things you could have taught her.  We kept her away from hunting for a reason, she should have the life none of us got to have,” he takes a few steps towards Kate, “Or do you want her to go through what we did?” He points at Victoria, “We both know Victoria can’t join the inner circles because she never had the ‘training’ we did, she isn’t as screwed up as we are, but she still wants to kill those three,” he jerks a thumb at us, “Simply because they’re werewolves, she wants to enjoy the thrill of the kill, to slaughter a teenager because he got Bitten and then inherited the Alpha’s power after you shot the Alpha that Bit him,” they’re still believing our original story.

 

“That same teen just saved us from Gerard and then a necromancer.  I will never like him, but I watched as my wife tried to poison him time and again, and then she pushed him down the stairs after the stayed the night with Allison, he protected Allison and she still tried to hurt him.  He’s not put a damn foot wrong and frankly with the Hales to teach him he could stabilize this whole area cutting down on all the deaths that always occur when a stable Pack is removed…” he stops talking and then goes quiet.

 

“And…” Kate tries to prompt him, “You know we move in after those incidents and frankly have a hell of a lot of fun, nothing like an open territory to bring out the crazy ones,” she has that smirk on her face and behind me I hear Derek growl under his breath.

 

“Exactly,” Chris looks like he’s going to be sick, “So hunters like you remove stable Packs so we can all swoop in and kill things, and don’t forget how the property prices drop because of all the human deaths no one can explain, how many of us have made killings on the property market,” he scrubs at his face, “Damn, he might have been right about us.”

 

“Chris,” Victoria is staring at him in shock, “He’s crazy, you shouldn’t listen to him…”

 

“Why not? He doesn’t believe in the Code, you don’t believe in it, Kate certainly doesn’t believe in it and we’re supposed to be the ones that protect the humans, so tell me why more of them die every time we interfere?” He goes into his intense hunter pose, “Tell me why stable Packs are wiped out and the body count goes up, just like the time your family were all killed when you were a teenager…”

 

“That was a rogue Omega,” Victoria snaps.

 

Kate starts laughing, “Oh wow, no sweetie that wasn’t a werewolf, I remember that time, just, dad was helping Baron bait a stable Pack, they had to torture a few of their brats to death before one of them snapped and we got the go ahead to wipe them all out,” she smiles happily, “Dad let me go out with him as he shot all the babies,” and there is something serious wrong with her.  “We had to stick around afterwards because the wendigo that turned up and dad stumbled over you and took you in, cue the big romance thing with Chris and you went off to be happy little Hunters.”

 

“But Gerard said it was a werewolf…” And Victoria is having some kind of crisis, “He said it was a werewolf, he let me kill the werewolf that killed my family…”

 

“Sure he did,” and Kate is looking anything but impressed, “You killed the last of the Fergus Pack, she was running for it with the Alpha’s kid in her, because of you a whole family died never to be reborn, you did a good job.”


	59. Chapter 59

Dad shifts to one side and then tilts his head, “So basically you’re saying that you move into an area, or send an advanced scout, get the locals to fight back from your attacks, then you kill them all, kill everything that turns up that’s drawn to the power vacuum, get rich from property, pick up stray victims that you then train to make more victims like themselves and you think you’re not the monsters?”

 

Kate smiles at him, “We’re human,” she points at us, “Did you see their faces?  They’re nothing, just animals, they’ll turn and go feral…”

 

“Oh lady you touch my kid and you wanna bet I’d turn feral too,” Dad almost growls it and he steps forward a few paces, “Tell me what you’d do if someone touched Allison, if they hurt her like you hurt the so called monster’s kids.”

 

And Chris crumples into himself, while Victoria is blank and not really there, Kate reacts and snarls, “Anyone touches her and I’ll kill them so slowly they’ll wish they were dead before I end them.”

 

“So you understand why those you’re attacking fight back?” Dad tries to point out to her.

 

“They’re not human,” she argues back, “They’re just monsters, they don’t count.”

 

“Unbelievable,” dad mutters, “Can you not hear yourself?”  He’s incredulous and I know what he means, they never listen.

 

“No,” Peter says softly, “They really can’t hear the utter hypocrisy in their words.  Werewolves know they can be monsters if they let the wolf out without limits, if they stop battling to be human, we know what we’ll become,” he moves closer to me and takes my hand, “It’s tempting to embrace the rage, the anger, the bloodlust, it takes someone or something special to make you realise that what you would lose by embracing that isn’t worth the miniscule gain you could get from being a killing machine.”

 

Holy mother of god, he’s come so far in so short a time.  Somehow I doubt it will stop him being a manipulative shit though.

 

“Kate,” Victoria snaps, “I am the matriarch, you will obey me, you will go before the council and you will tell them what happened here, you will tell them what Gerard tried to do, that he tried to make himself an Alpha werewolf and then you will tell them how he helped manipulate all of us.”

 

“Why?” Kate is glaring at Victoria now.

 

“Because I’m not an Argent anymore, the council won’t hear me, but I will be looking into how my family really died, and if I find out that you’re telling the truth don’t you dare show your face to any of my family again, I’ll kill you first,” okay that’s weird I have no idea what the hell she’s talking about.  “If you really did tell the truth and I find out that the council were manipulated by a mere man, and allowed themselves to be used just so we could kill, and families like mine paid the price, then the council had better hide because I will offer sanctuary to any and all that seek to flee the Hunters and I will expose them,” whoa I did not see that coming.

 

She spins slightly and pins me with her glare, “And little wolf boy you had better hope that Gerard and Kate are telling the truth because if they’re not, I will not suffer you to live, not near my daughter,” and then she stalks off into the forest and I pity the small harmless, or not so harmless, woodland creatures that she comes across right now.

 

“Dude your wife is scary,” I tell Chris and get a smile in return.

 

“She’s strong, she’s powerful, and I do love that in my partner,” he waves at Kate, “We have to move the body, and then we’ll get you to the council.”

 

I wait for them to get out of earshot before saying, “Is it me, or are they all crazy?”

 

“Crazy,” Derek says quietly.

 

“And the chances of Victoria not finding out her family died because of a, what was it called?” Dad asks.

 

“Wendigo,” Peter supplies, “And the chances are very remote, I’d be very surprised if a werewolf killed her family, not if a wendigo is in the area, we’d never allow one of them in our territory, they are hunger made flesh,” and they eat anyone, they really aren’t picky eaters.

 

“Right, wendigos, because they’re real too,” Dad is muttering, “Let’s get back to the cars, we have some kids to take back to mine and then we have some talking to do, all of us,” he shoos us towards the cars and I smile to myself as Peter puts his hand in mine, and then weirdly Derek does the same on the other side, it’s nice, but weird.

 

All the teens and Victoria are standing by a few cars and a van.  Mrs Bowman is trying to talk to Allison who is shying away from her and shaking her head, dad spots Allison’s distress and jogs ahead, “Hey, back off, give her some space.”

 

And then everyone freaks out because Chris walks in with his dad’s body over his shoulder and Kate’s right at his heels, “Listen up,” Chris starts to take charge, “We will meet back at our house…”

 

 

“No,” Dad interrupts, “We’ll use my house if you don’t mind, there’s a slight lack of poisoning house guests and pushing them down the stairs there.  We have a lot to talk about and we’ll get more done there.”

 

“Fine,” Chris concedes and then he and Kate throw Gerard’s body in the van, “Who’s coming with us?”

 

The lack of anyone moving closer to the van must have given away the completely creeped out feeling everyone must be swamped over because Chris shakes his head and says he’ll meet us at home.

 

God I hope they leave the body in the van, preferably cut in half.

 

Dividing us up into cars to go home I notice that Dad instantly moves to break me and Peter up, I end up driving Erika and Boyd to our house.  Neither of them speak to me and they sit in the back kind of huddling, I sigh as I turn into my street and give up trying to draw them out into a conversation.

 

Nearly everyone else is there and once my passengers are out I zap the keyring to the Argent’s SUV and it beeps as it locks.

 

I give people a chance to start making their way inside, they’re all giving wide berths to the werewolves and to my amusement the Argents too, especially Kate.

 

I knew coming back came with a risk, I knew saving them wouldn’t be easy, that I might not like all of the results, I didn’t think they’d all find out, I didn’t think I’d be shunned, and then Isaac is walking next to me and smiling, well at least I have one friend left of my human Pack mates.

 

Leaning in Isaac mutters, “They seem a bit freaked out, I told Scott I already knew because I caught you all being wolfy and how you were all hiding because it could get you killed, he’s upset but he should come around, and I didn’t tell anyone about your magic.”

 

“Thanks,” I mutter back and hold the door for him.  “So who wants drinks?” I ask and then start the hosting duties as I pass around sodas and glasses of juice.

 

Peter is sprawled across his bed like he owns the whole room and then I smirk as Derek gives him a long look and climbs on the bed too.  It gives me an idea and I climb on with my own drink.  I settle between the two of them and let them use me as a leaning post.

 

What I’m not expecting is Isaac to invite himself to the puppy pile that’s staring up next ton Peter’s side and kind of wedging himself there.  Peter actually moves to give him more space, “Better?” He asks the teen and when Isaac nods Peter sniffs at him, “I can smell bruises on you, are you okay?  Do you need anything?”

 

“I’m good, thank you Peter,” Isaac wiggles closer and that’s when I see Scott’s got his thinking face on, it does not bode well but I hope he accepts me as a werewolf.

 

“Is Isaac a werewolf?” Scott just throws that in and everyone is staring at Isaac.


	60. Chapter 60

“No,” Isaac sips at his drink, he looks outwardly calm though I’m aware of his heart racing a little.  “I don’t have to be a werewolf to be Pack,” and a few people are still staring and frowning.

 

“So why are you Pack and I’m not?” Scott is looking hurt now.

 

“You are Pack,” Chris says explaining from a hunter’s point of view, “You should have noticed Stiles’ sudden change in behaviour, and he’s clearly in the ‘Nesting’ period,” he even air quotes, “Which is why he’s been gathering up teens to bond with,” Chris leans forward, “I did some research and it was just you and Stiles for years, the Bite would have changed his priorities slightly, he’s opening up and absorbing all of you as members to stabilise his Pack structure.”

 

“Do we have to be werewolves?” Scott is back to thinking hard.

 

“No,” I tell him, “No one has to be a werewolf, just be human and enjoy your life.  I told Isaac I just wanted to be friends and I do, believe me when I say that there is something special about all of you, and you don’t need to have fangs and claws to let it out, it’s already there.”

 

“Oh,” Scott nods, “So we’re still friends?”

 

“Always,” I grin at him, “Nothing’s gotten in our way and stopped us being friends yet.  Just don’t hate me for being all growly and grumpy when the moon’s up,” and this is where we could come undone, Scott may have embraced being a werewolf in the end, but it doesn’t mean he would have ever chosen to be a werewolf, and he might not choose me as a werewolf either.

 

“Cool,” and Scott gets up to climb on the bed and when he holds his arms out I know we’re going to be good.  I move slowly and carefully so as not to spook him and then I get wrapped up in a hug, he always did give good hugs, he kind of throws himself into them and I cling a bit.  “Love you Stiles.”

 

“Love you too Scott,” I bury my face in his neck and breathe him in, I can smell everything he should smell of, and Peter’s right, there’s blood just under the surface, not too much and Scott isn’t acting or smelling like he’s in a lot of pain, he’s going to be okay, and I relax into him.

 

“How touching,” Kate snarks from her seat, “He’s an animal that can play act as a human, he’ll go rabid, they always do and then someone like me is going to have to put him down.” Scott’s fingers tighten on me and he smells angry but protective too.

 

“You mean someone like you who goes around breaking their niece’s arm and shooting people who aren’t werewolves?” Scott asks her quietly.

 

“I thought you were a werewolf,” she shrugs, “So I got it wrong, you still know a werewolf, does it really matter?”

 

“Yes,” Dad snaps.  “Weirdly enough it does.  You don’t go around shooting everyone you suspect of something, you’re supposed to prove it and then put them in jail.”

 

Laughing Kate says, “Sweetie you don’t put an animal in jail you put it down.”

 

“And if it’s the wrong animal?” Dad asks as I wonder what he’s doing, he’s tried talking to her and gotten nowhere.  “What if you keep taking out the ‘animals’ as you like to put it but it turns out to be humans pretending to be the ‘animals’ knowing you won’t look any deeper, or if the ‘animal’ in question just migrates all the time so you kill the ones that aren’t causing trouble?”

 

She frowns and thinks about it, for a few seconds I wonder if she can understand what he’s getting at, Chris is looking sick so he’s gotten it and Victoria is nodding like she understands his point.  And then Kate shakes her head, “No, humans aren’t animals, they wouldn’t do that, and even if we kill the wrong animal it doesn’t matter its one less of them to deal with.”

 

And like that she proves why hunters are a bunch of racist assholes.

 

“Yeah, people used to think like you when they owned slaves too,” Dad says, “Or when women were considered chattel, thankfully most of the world grew up, apparently you didn’t,” and dad isn’t holding back that much, though Kate’s eyes are still full of crazy.

 

“Women are human, those things aren’t,” she really won’t ever see it.

 

“Enough,” Victoria says, “My last command to you holds, you will tell the Council about Gerard,” she pauses, “And don’t ever try to contact Allison again, as far as we’re concerned you’re dead to us.  We’ll either kill you ourselves or turn you over to the police to rot in jail for life.”

 

Glaring at Victoria Kate looks away and then over to Allison, a sweet smile slips over her face and the scary thing is she means it, she really does care about Allison, “Oh honey, you don’t want me to go away and never come back, not me.”

 

Up until now Allison has been the sweet gentle girl I first got to know, I really don’t want her to have to change because of the supernatural, I want her to have the chance to have a life, one that isn’t drenched in blood and death. “Actually yes I do want you to go away and never come back.  You broke my arm. I trusted you and you hurt me.  You shot Scott because he could be a werewolf and he’s not.  You’ve killed people and you don’t understand why what you did was wrong.  I don’t ever want to be like you,” and I forgot that Allison might be sweet but that doesn’t stop her having a backbone of steel.

 

Standing up Allison gets on the bed too and cuddles into my side, “Stiles is my friend, he’s been nothing but welcoming, he’s never tried to hurt me, he’s tried to protect me, and he’s not a monster.”

 

“Thank you,” I murmur and endure the touch of arousal drifting off of Scott, he likes her a lot right now.

 

Kate looks like Allison just slapped her, Chris looks resigned and Victoria’s hands are twisting in her lap, she motions to her daughter, “Allison, please come away from,” her face twitches, “Stiles.”  Wow she said my name in a fairly neutral way.

 

“No,” Allison grips me, and Scott, a little more.  “Stiles is my friend mom and you are just going to have to learn how to deal with it.”  Oh Allison is standing up to her mom.

 

“Allison…” Victoria says and then Chris waves her down.

 

“Allison, your mom is trying, but give her a chance please sweetheart,” Chris is being reasonable and Allison reluctantly goes to sit down again.  “Thank you.”  He turns to twine his hand with one of Victoria’s, who’s less tense now.

 

“I can’t believe I’ve lived to see the day Argents rutted with the animals,” Kate’s face twists up in disgust, “Chris give me the keys, I’ll leave the van at yours, you can bury him. And yes I know I have to go to the council,” she stands and stretches luxuriously, “And I also know they won’t listen to you,” she sneers at Victoria, “If you ever see me again it’s because the council sent me to kill you, I don’t have a family anymore.”

 

Chris gives her the keys and she leaves, I listen to her drive off in the van and then Erika puts one of her hands up, “Was it a good idea to let her go?  Won’t she just come back?”

 

“No, she won’t,” Victoria smiles nastily, “The council will receive my message and after I’m sure of a few facts from my own family, I feel that most of the Hunter families and the creatures out there will be getting the same information,” her smile is hard, and I really don’t want her angry at me, or even slightly more than murderous in my direction.

 

“I have another question,” Erika timidly keeps her hand up, “How did Stiles get to be a werewolf?  You make it sound like he wasn’t always one,” she puts her hand down and shuffles in closer to Boyd.

 

“Do you mind?” Chris asks and when I shake my head I get to listen to the fictitious way I got turned into a werewolf.  From Laura’s murder at Kate’s hands.  How a passing rogue became an Alpha and Bit me as he or she searched to make a pack.  How Kate pretended to be out of town and then drove in and battled the make believe Alpha, fatally wounding them with a special bullet and that was how I became the Alpha after inheriting it from my Alpha.

 

Oh my god it is scary how little they know or understand anything to do with werewolves, how the hell have they managed to survive this long without getting themselves all killed?

 

“I’m not sure how he met Peter and Derek but as he’s an Alpha they would have been drawn to him and he to them.  He gets two older Born werewolves and he’s balancing himself out with his human friends.  He’s clearly family orientated and that all bodes well for future stability in this area,” Chris finishes off.  And because he believes it to be true his heart doesn’t stutter, not like mine would or Peter’s would, so Derek will also believe the part about Laura.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, work is horrific, so there may be sporadic updates over the next week and no update tomorrow :(


	61. Chapter 61

Loping through the darkness I leave my hood up and circle around to the perfect ambush position.

 

And then I start to hear a lot of hearts and some radio static up head.  Freezing I sniff the air and yep those are people hiding by the road, listening in for a few minutes I soon work out that they’re cops, or more accurately FBI.

 

Sneaking in closer I shin up a tree and glare at the people in my way.

 

It took two days for us to come up with a plan to get Kate Argent out of Beacon Hills and I knew exactly when and how she was leaving.  There’s no way she’s getting away from this.  Yeah logically I know she should face the council and carry Victoria’s message but since Victoria has been digging into her family’s massacre at the hands of a wendigo, the ex-hunter is getting pissed off enough she may hand the council its collective heads.

 

Meaning I’m free to make sure Kate Argent ‘accidentally’ has a minor car accident that can’t be traced back to me, and she still goes to jail and gets dragged through the courts.

 

Only now the FBI are where I need to be.

 

And then I hear the sound of an engine racing towards us, damn it.

 

Though I have to say watching the FBI ‘apprehend’ the fugitive that they were tipped off about by text, from a phone that belongs to a Hunter that hates Chris is a good touch, and I wonder who the hell managed to pull that off.

 

Slinking home I leap up to my room to find Peter lounging on my bed, he glances up from watching some dumb show on my laptop to say, “You know your dad told you to stay home tonight and thinks you’re doing homework.”

 

“Yeah,” I counter, “And you know he’s banned you from my room and set Derek as my baby sitter,” and dad has kinda picked up on me and Peter somehow, he’s not come right out and said anything but he’s already putting road blocks in the way.

 

“Oh I know, but if you can break the rules, then so can I,” he taps the laptop and the terrible canned laughter stops, “And he got a phone call, one he was clearly waiting for by the way he was hovering around the phone and waiting for it ring, something about Kate Argent being arrested and the FBI are taking full credit for it.”

 

“Really?” And I don’t know how dad did that, the sneaky bastard, though he has been having coffee with Chris Argent a lot over the last few days.

 

“Hmm, and he was texting someone when he walked out, said he’d be back later and then glared at me before telling Derek to make sure you were okay,” Peter seems unconcerned with dad’s suspicions.

 

“Huh, well that fits in with watching the FBI catch Kate then,” I strip down and reach for my boxers when I smell the beginnings of Peter’s arousal.  So I stretch up and work out a few kinks in my back. 

 

The smell gets stronger.

 

Turning around I smile at him and he grins back, “Show off, you just want me to play with your freckles.”

 

“Absolutely,” I saunter to the bed and know that my erection is swelling, so I face plant beside him, no need to pressure him.  “I’m sure if you looked hard enough you’d find constellations and shit that you could trace with a finger.”

 

Laughing he props himself up on an elbow and then a finger is skating over my skin and I shiver in a good way when Derek says, “You know if Stiles’ dad gets here he’ll be mad.”  It sounds like he’s downstairs.

 

“Are you going to tell on us Derek?” Peter taunts slightly and his hand slides down to cup a buttock, I enjoy it way too much and bite my lip as the bastard trails a inger from one buttock to the other making sure he touches as much as he can on the way.

 

“No, I’m just warning you what will happen,” Derek says, “We know that Stiles is the one cradle robbing, but everyone else is going to see a teen that’s underage.”

 

“True,” Peter’s fingers are moving up my back and he’s writing messages again, I snort when he says Derek’s a stick in the mud and then follows it up with a big heart and doodles our initials.

 

Leaning over he kisses my shoulder and I wiggle over on my side so I can get some kissing action too.  As a human kissing with tongues is good, fun, sexy.  As a wolf I pick up so much more, the food Peter’s been eating, and even some of his emotions from the day, he’s mostly been happy.

 

He pulls away regretfully and gives me a little bow as he steals my laptop and vanishes down the stairs.  Other than dad, our relationship is getting better and better.  He’s much more relaxed and affectionate, he’s mentioned waiting for the ‘surgery’ for his scars now they don’t pull and itch so much.

 

Pulling on my clothes I take some homework downstairs and we settle in for the evening, though I’m wondering how I’m supposed to woo Peter now that everyone knows we’re werewolves.  And I’m glad everyone is taking the creature of the night reveal so well, though they do give me strange looks now and again and I smell fear occasionally.

 

Except for Isaac and Scott, they don’t seem to care and frankly Isaac’s taken the last two days to mean he can snuggle me in public, which made Scott jealous for a bit until he started snuggling me too and that was too adorable for Allison who gives me small hugs and then snuggles Scott.

 

Erika and Boyd are slowly coming around, I suppose it helps that we’re back at school and there’s nothing like mind numbing routine to lull you into acceptance.

 

Dad managed to convince everyone that it was just bad timing on the voice mails and him going missing checking out something that turned out to be nothing, but we all got a public lecture from him and he also made a point of including himself in it too.

 

We’re on lockdown still because no one else knows Gerard is dead, and until recently Kate was on the loose.  At least they should start relaxing their grip on us and eventually Gerard will be forgotten.  At least by the police until Kate’s trial starts.

 

When dad gets home with take out, I’ll put him back on his diet soon, he finds all three of us in the living room, Peter’s on my laptop, Derek is reading and doing one armed push ups, and I’m finishing off some homework.

 

“Hey dad,” I greet him, “Dinner smells good, you got Chinese then,” I don’t bother to look up at him, he stiffens and then relaxes, “You know you’re back on salads soon right?”

 

“I’m not going back on that crap Stiles,” He argues, “I know Peter’s been teaching you to cook,” which is our excuse for how I can suddenly cook, “So you can learn healthy stuff that isn’t shitty, exercise those Alpha muscles and take care of your old man.”

 

The laugh bursts out of me, “Are you challenging me to find healthy recipes for you?”

 

“Yep, are you up for it?” He’s in the kitchen getting plates, because Peter won’t eat straight out of a carton, he’s fussy like that.

 

“Bring it!” I yell so he can hear me.  I can’t believe he’s taking this so well, he still stares now and again when one of us does something wolfy but he’s taken me to one side and told me how much he loves me and he always will.

 

Carrying all the food, and plates, and drinks, and fucking cutlery because Derek is useless with chopsticks, dad settles next to me and we eat while talking about our day.  This is how it used to be with mom, then she got sick and died, and suddenly the family meals stopped.  I used to have them with Scott’s family and then his dad left because his dad is a dick, and then Scott’s mom did her best but it’s hard keeping a roof over your head with just one salary.  Full at last I lean back into the sofa cushions and groan at how good it is to have your stomach hurt just a little bit due to too much food.

 

“So I have some news,” Dad says and his heart is speeding up a bit, “The FBI got a tip off and it seems that Kate Argent got picked up, she won’t be able to go to the Hunters’ council she’ll be on her way to jail instead.”

 

Derek frowns, “And they’re sure they have her contained this time?  That she really will go to jail?”

 

“Yeah,” Dad smiles at Derek and my bro is worming his way into dad’s affections, as a teen I would have been jealous of the fatherly attention that dad’s showing him, but now I can see that it’s good for Derek, for dad, and I’m just happy that they’re happy.

 

Taking a mouthful of drink I bask surrounded by family as dad says, “And speaking of jail, I hope Peter isn’t doing anything I’d have to arrest him for with you Stiles.”

 

Choking on my drink I may spit some of it out as I weakly gasp, “What?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Graz to everyone who spotted my feint on the sheriff and stiles letting Kate go. Darn I was hoping to sneak it past you. Kudos.


	62. Chapter 62

“You heard me Stiles,” Dad is being all calm and collected, “I’m not an idiot, you might be close and cuddly with your Pack, including Isaac, but there’s that extra something with Peter,” and he glares at Peter.

 

Of course Peter being Peter just tilts his head and smiles that really annoying smile that lets me know he’s probably about to fuck with my dad, “Now Sheriff not only is your son underage but he’s made it abundantly clear that if I want to break the law he’s more than ready to help me,” oh god, he’s never going to grow up is he, the glare on my dad’s face intensifies.  “But I’m not ready for anything more than the sweetest, cutest, sicking lovey dovey stuff and I commend you on your son not only understanding the word ‘no’ but being able to embrace the sprit of ‘no’,” Peter smiles at me his more genuine sappy one, “He’s not pressuring me in the slightest, and I’ve made him aware that while I need time,” he reaches up to touch the scars on his face, “To come to terms with things that have happened, I’m also absolutely fascinated by him, he’s utterly unique, he is the one with the extra something.”

 

Oh god I’m blushing, I’m honest to god blushing, this version of Peter is nicer to me and sweeter and I squirm as they all look at me, “You’re a special little snowflake too Peter,” and I want to smack myself, wow I’m so unsmooth at this flirting stuff, I am so out of practice, not that I’m good at it anyway.

 

“Thank you Stiles,” He settles down and gazes at me no longer hiding anything from my dad, those blue eyes of his catch and hold mine and I gaze right back at him. 

 

“Okay,” Dad claps his hands breaking up my blatant staring contest and he sighs, “God Stiles, first you’re a werewolf and now you have a thing for older men?”

 

I shrug, “Sorry Dad, I did have a brief moment of obsessing and almost stalking Lydia if that helps?”  From the way he’s shaking his head I’d say it didn’t.

 

“You both swear nothing has happened between you?  My son’s, oh god I can’t believe I’m saying this, virtue is as intact as it was before this thing started?” Dad rubs the bridge of his nose like this whole thing is paining him.

 

“I promise,” I tell him earnestly, “Seriously Peter needs time, I’m happy to give him time and practice my pickup lines to make him laugh.  I’m sure by the time I’m legal things will be at the right juncture that we can move forward, and then I can ravage him within an inch of his life,” I mock leer at Peter, “Until then I will selflessly spend time with him, hold his hand, adore him, gaze into his eyes, learn as much about him as I can and spend hours talking and talking and talking.”

 

Dad is watching me thoughtfully, “You mean that, you really will rein in your hormones for him,” he frowns, “In that case Peter needs to move out,” I protest instantly, “He needs to build his own life Stiles, and he needs to not have people gossip about him and underage boys when you start dating, oh and Derek or I have to chaperone you two if you want to be alone, I will not have people questioning or spreading rumours.  And if he hurts you in any way I will hunt him down and kill him.”

 

Pausing dad then adds, “Oh and you had better keep your grades up, graduate on time and then go to college.  If this thing between you can survive high school it can survive long distance when you go to college.”

 

Oh.

 

I haven’t told dad about the lack of college yet.

 

“Dad,” I’ve put this off too long, “I’m not going away to college, I can’t, I have to stay in Beacon Hills now.”

 

He gets it straight away, “Because of the werewolf thing?” I nod, “Stiles, son,” he glances between the other two werewolves, “I remember Hales going to college, they might have gone far away but they went.”

 

“Stiles is the Alpha,” Peter’s voice is soft and I listen to his heart ping on the lie, “He has to stay here, he can’t leave,” and now he’s not lying, he’s telling the truth.

 

“Damn, Stiles, with your grades you could have had your pick of schools,” dad looks devastated.  I’ve already had the college experience and I might not remember parts of it due to way too much beer, but it was fun, and the students were older and totally enjoyed the Stiles way of loving, I had lots of repeat requests from my conquests.

 

“It’s okay dad, I can go to community college, I’ll still graduate, and I just know things are gonna be good for me,” I’ve done this once already, I know some of the pitfalls coming up, I also know which companies make it so I can invest wisely and make a killing.

 

I still get pulled into a giant hug by him and he’s way more upset by this than I am.  I hear Peter move before more arms are wrapped around us, and he’s more on dad’s side than mine, I feel dad stiffen and then Derek’s hugging my side and he murmurs, “We’ll help, we’ll always help, whatever you need, we’re family, Pack.”

 

It was probably what dad needed to hear and he nods, “Thanks, I’m just so used to it being me and Stiles now, it’s going to take a while to get used to more.”

 

We break up the mass hug, which I am going to use against Peter as evidence of puppy piles, I already know some of his arguments and I’m ready to counter them, and then we kick back and spend the evening together, as a family.

 

*

 

Dad sticks to his guns and my Pack are forced to move out.

 

Well first dad goes house hunting with them and he’s looking for something in town that’s big enough to house all of them, and he even calls dibs on a room for himself, “Stiles, if you move out all I’m going to do is rattle around the house on my own, this way I won’t be lonely, you won’t get a chance to get into toruble, and it will add a stamp of approval from me when you and Peter start dating the summer after you graduate from high school. No don’t argue with me, now go pick out the room you’re gonna use for a while before moving in with Peter.”

 

I’m a little confused as to why he’s so accepting of me and Peter until I raid his book stash and he’s zeroed in on the same books I had the first time, all about mates and the wolf picking the perfect partner, I really should correct him but this is helping me so I keep quiet.

 

We hold a housewarming party for the Hales when they officially move into the giant house.  Everyone really does have their own room, even me, though Peter is going to be decorating his for both of us.

 

Peter’s cooked so the food is amazing and the humans of my Pack devour most of the food like teenaged locusts.  If I didn’t know how much they used to eat as werewolves I’d be surprised as it is I’m still impressed.

 

We joke and mess around as dad putters about and he’s enjoying himself, he’s not at work, there are no unexpected bodies that have been mauled to death.  He chats with Derek and then Isaac, he even ruffles Isaac’s hair and the boy doesn’t flinch.  He pats Erika’s shoulder and talks sports with Boyd.  Scott gets hugged and Allison hovers only to be pulled into a hug too.  Dad even talks to Peter and seems to be trying to get to know him, I have hope that Peter won’t fuck up as he’s on his best behaviour today.

 

In fact I’d have to say the whole Pack is happy and relaxed, this is what I wanted when I came back.  We go quiet as we eat the last of the food and chill out.

 

Then Derek stands up and asks who wants to play basketball, Peter is instantly on his feet, “Oh I don’t know Derek can you keep up? I was best offensive player.”

 

Dad volunteers to keep score and we all hit the side of the house where the hoop has been put up.  It’s mayhem, there are no teams and wolfy powers are strictly prohibited, but I still think Peter cheats, and damn Derek can move and score hoops with a smirk that’s more at home on his uncle’s face than his own.

 

Scott and Erika both take frequent breaks throughout the so called game and I’m really aware of the way my bro struggles to breathe on occasion, it’s not bad, but it’s not good either, he’s happy enough to play and then watch when he needs to, plus dad fusses him so they’re good.

 

And then Erika crosses her arms and says, “Urgh why do I have to be so young? I can’t wait until I’m eighteen and Stiles can Bite me.”

 

Boyd was passing me the ball and I gape at Erika in shock.  Seconds later I’m flat on my back as the ball smacked me in the face and I barely feel it.  Why the hell would Erika want to be a werewolf?


	63. Chapter 63

“Stiles,” Peter is by my side and checking to make sure I’m okay.

 

“I’m good Peter, I’m good,” I stare at Erika and then ask, “Why the hell would you want the Bite?  You know it can kill you right?”  And it did kill her last time, she went from teen to werewolf to corpse and the Alpha Pack aren’t here yet, but they will be, how the hell am I supposed to protect her, save her, if all she does it throw herself in the way of certain death?

 

She gets up and walks towards me, there’s a hint of the Erika I briefly knew in how she moves, having friends has made her much more confident, having Boyd as her boyfriend is also doing wonders for her self-esteem, she’s starting to believe in herself.

 

Kneeling next to where I’m sprawled she gives me a sad look, “Stiles, I don’t want to be trapped by my epilepsy, I want more.  The Bite can free me from having to be afraid of myself.  I want to be able to drive, to look at flashing lights, to be as free as any werewolf can be.  My grades are terrible, I’m not getting out of Beacon Hills easily, and I don’t care, I want life on my terms.”  She’s only had one other fit since she joined us as a friend but she was so upset after it happened.

 

“Erika,” I don’t know how to tell her no without hurting her.

 

“He’s right you could die,” Peter points out.  “A life with epilepsy, or the barest chance of one without but you’d always be hunted, always watchful, it’s not an easy life.”

 

Lifting her chin up she stares him down, “I’m not stupid Peter, I was kidnaped by Allison’s crazy side of the family, and I heard what Gerard said, all I need to take is that flower that blooms under moonlight and I’m guaranteed to change.  But I also know I have to wait, at least until I’m eighteen, I’m sure now but I’ll wait to prove it to Stiles and then he’ll be ready to Bite me.”  For a few seconds she’s fierce and powerful and this is everything I ever wanted for her, “We’ve all talked about it and I’m the only one that wants the Bite, the others are fine as they are.”

 

The others kind of shuffle about in the background and don’t quite look at me, then Scott clears his throat, “Yeah we did kinda talk about it, I’m good as I am, I mean it’s great for you, you’re a lot less clumsy and you’re happy Stiles, I don’t think I would be, I don’t want to be a werewolf.”

 

“Okay,” I nod, “You never have to be a werewolf Scott, I meant it when I said you’d always be my brother.”   I look at the others wondering why they turned it down, but they all nod and their reasons are their own for the moment.

 

The mood of the party is broken and dad starts hinting an hour later than we should go home.  He does let me steal some alone time with Peter though and I’m soon wrapped around a certain Alpha werewolf.

 

“You know the Bite is a gift don’t you Stiles?” He seems worried for some reason.  “I know you chose because you came back in time, but you are okay with the end result…”

 

“Yes Peter, I’m good, I have strong anchors, things are going well, you’re going well.  Kate is still in jail, Mrs Argent has made discoveries and now has an anti-hunter policy going on.  Derek is in therapy and is well on the way to a bromance with Isaac.  My dad is awesome and happy.  And now Erika wants the Bite,” and that is freaking me out.  “I came back to save them Peter, she died so young last time, how the hell am I going to talk her out of this?”

 

“You don’t,” is his only answer and I glare at him, “Stiles, if she were like the others, if she had other viable options that she wanted, then yes the Bite would be a really hard choice for her to make.  But you know the epilepsy has made her life hell, yes people live with it, yes people have amazing lives and deal with it.  The Bite would free her from it completely, and if she isn’t leaving Beacon Hills it’s not a hardship for her to give that up.”

 

My glare doesn’t waver, “So the Bite is a gift for her,” I say it bitterly.

 

“Yes, for her it is a gift,” his eyes dim slightly, “And if we can get our hands on that particular type of wolfsbane she won’t die, there is no ‘if’ for her survival.”

 

“Maybe,” I pull away from him angry and annoyed that he might be right, “But the others don’t seem that interested in the Bite and I don’t suppose you’d promise not to do a sales pitch to them?”

 

He snorts, “You said there’s another Beta coming,” Cora, Cora is coming, “We can wait to increase our Pack, plus with no Hunters here we can afford to be choosey, to pick the ones that need a home to heal in,” he moves closer to me again and holds his hands out, “You’ve done miracles for Derek and I, we’ve gained a new Pack, a strong Pack, the bonds we are forming are going to sustain us for decades.  We don’t need many more wolves at all, my instincts want a third Beta but I can ignore them for now.”

 

I let him draw me into a hug and nod, “Let me think about it okay?”

 

“Okay, but I’m warning you, if she comes to me and asks for the Bite, with the wolfsbane to ensure her surviving the Bite, I will give her the Bite the moment she graduates from high school,” his voice is firm, “I won’t turn her away, not if she’s really thought this through.”

 

“Fine,” I leave in a huff but text him to let him know I still love him.

 

At home I log onto you tube and it’s childs play to find the videos of her, to see her so helpless as her fit takes her hostage and I can hear the kids laughing at her, I can see when she pisses herself.  My Catwoman is an amazing person and these idiots can’t see it.

 

From that I can maybe see why she wants the Bite.

 

Crap.

 

I wait for dad to go to bed and then I slip out of my window and go to see a certain vet.  He lets me in his house and goes to make me some tea, its camomile and I smile at his choice.

 

“And to what do I owe the honour of your visit?” He asks quietly.

 

“Erika asked for the Bite,” I tell him, “And she still thinks I’m the Alpha, she wants me to turn her after she has the wolfsbane Gerard mentioned.”  I grimace, “I came back to keep them all safe, being a werewolf is not safe.”

 

“Hmm,” He’s still annoying and mysterious, “Though you should ask yourself just how safe it is in Beacon Hills if you aren’t a werewolf, because you don’t get to be as good at magic as you are, if you don’t get a lot of practice, plus there are very few people capable of successfully going back in time,” he hints about how neck deep in the supernatural shit I was as a teen, a human teen too.

 

Damn it I hate when he’s being reasonable, “But last time she died, as in died badly, beaten to death at the hands of the Alpha Pack that I know you know are coming.”

 

“Does Peter have to Bite her right now?” He asks.

 

“No,” I sip more tea and let the familiar smell and flavour soothe me, “She said she’d wait until she was eighteen to ask, and then Peter said he’d wait until she graduated high school before Biting her.”

 

“Leaving him with just two Beta’s to balance his Pack until then,” Alan gives me a small nod, “I’m impressed Stiles, you’ve managed to not only come back in time, but you’ve kept the deaths to just Gerard, clipped the claws of the hunters worldwide, gotten Kate arrested, joined the Hale Pack, kept Derek from learning the real reason Peter is the Alpha, and kept Peter from drowning the town in blood.”

 

When he puts it that way it does sound good.  “I still made mistakes, missed other things, Lydia is suspicious of me, dad knows about werewolves, hell all of my friends know about werewolves.”

 

“True, but now they have the knowledge to protect themselves better, and I’m sure you can hide from this Lydia, though knowing her she’ll be drawn to you, she’ll be drawn to all the supernatural in this town because of what she is.  You might want to start preparing her, ease her into it.”

 

Damn.

 

“Maybe,” is all I say as I get to my feet, “Thanks for the tea Alan, and the advice, I’ll think about it.”

 

“One last thing Stiles,” Deaton gets up and motions for me to follow him, “I spotted a headline you’ll be interested in,” he turns on a PC, one of the old tower ones, and who has those anymore, they phased them out years ago, no wait, that won’t be for a while yet.  He loads a page in French and I lean over to read the headline from one of their newspapers and then I read the whole article.

 

“Is that for real?” My French is rusty but damn I was not expecting that.

 

“Yes, you just changed the world Stiles, relatively bloodlessly too,” Alan starts powering down his PC.  “The wolves in France have dared to go to the authorities, they are turning to the human laws every time the hunters break the law, the Argents will fall, not easily but they will fall.  A new breed of Hunter will rise, this time their base will be here in Beacon Hills, they will truly hunt those who hunt others, any type of others be they human or not so human.”

 

Holy Mother of God.  And that article was all about raids the police are carrying out and how they are searching for a secret murderous society, if they link it to Kate…

 

“Huh,” Is about all I can say to that.

 

“So while you can bask in your exploits, we both know this is just the start, you have to tell Peter and Derek to get ready, the Alpha Pack is coming, they will finish what was started by Gerard all those years ago.”

 

This is going to stir up bad blood between Derek and Peter because of what happened to Paige back then, perhaps Peter not rushing in to Bite everything is a good thing, it will show Derek that Peter has changed, that he’s learnt from his past.  And when the Alpha Pack turn up I’ll kill them, well I might leave the twins alive, it depends.

 

Head whirling I thank him and go to slip back home.

 

“One last thing,” he calls out before I vanish into the dark, “I dreamed it was Scott that got Bitten in the woods, he had a destiny Stiles, and destiny will come knocking for Scott’s replacement, but I have a feeling you’re going to be fine, that we’ll all be fine.”

 

I nod at him and flee to my room not wanting anything to do with destiny.

 

I have a lot to think about.  I’ve changed the past completely, now we just have to survive the storms that are coming.  I’m confident that we will, I know some of what’s coming, I can plan ahead, I can get Peter’s input, maybe not Derek’s his planning skills are terrible.

 

Rolling over I listen to my dad’s heartbeat and let it soothe me, Alan is right, I have saved them, I’m just worried that he’ll try and mould me into being a True Alpha, I’m many things but a True Alpha is rare for a reason, and Scott always was a natural when it came to being a leader.

 

A bush rustles outside of our house and I zero in on Peter’s heartbeat, snorting I shake my head at his creeper tendencies, good thing I like that in my significant other.  “I love you Peter,” I whisper.

 

“Love you too Stiles, go to sleep, no more midnight runs to Deaton’s, oh and I was listening the whole time,” is all he says and of course he was listening, “We’ll talk about Alpha Packs in the morning, all of us, including your father, my nephew, and the humans, until then I’ll keep watch so you can dream of me all night,” and he’s so conceited.

 

Closing my eyes I fall asleep as Peter starts to randomly sing ‘You are my sunshine’ softly and murders it because his singing is terrible, I loved the him from my time, but I’m going to love this version so much more.

 

End.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter to go. An epilogue of sorts.
> 
> Oh and I like that song so if it’s out of character for Peter tough it’s an author thing. Plus I wanted Peter to be bad at something, so singing was a fun choice.


	64. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay this chapter turned out way more fluffy than I was expecting, enjoy.

Ten Years Later…

 

Running through the sun dappled forest I follow the scent trail the Peter has very sloppily set down for me, it’s easy to keep a fast pace as I race towards him and the promised picnic.

 

It’s been days since we’ve been alone and had time for just us.  Being part of a big Pack that lives together or just next door is amazing, but noisy, and it’s hard to get couples time.  Though the adoption is going through so any alone time or us time is about to go on an extended vacation until the kids are grown up.

 

The wind shifts carrying the scent of fall leaves and Peter and is that lube?  I stick to the path he’s laid down and moments later I hear his heartbeat up ahead.  Leaping over a fallen tree I land beside the picnic blanket and he’s already set up most of the food, with plates because god forbid we eat out of containers.

 

Something about the whole area seems familiar but Peter is naked and I get distracted by ogling him shamelessly.  He’s not had a huge amount of ‘surgery’ done so the scars are really noticeable when people first meet him, and he tends to stay covered up, even at home.  The only people who see the scars on his body are me and his doctors.

 

“Babe?” I stand there a little surprised by his boldness, he’s never naked, and when he have naked time we tend to start with clothes on and the clothes coming off portion of the session tends to become foreplay.

 

“Happy anniversary Stiles,” he stands up and not only is he naked but my nose did not deceive me, he’s also very aroused and I start jumping about like a crazy person to get out of my clothes.  Peter has erectile issues, though they’re like the scars itching, and all in his mind.  Getting alone time and getting that to coincide with Peter being interesting and staying interested has stretched my ingenuity down the years, the problems are a lot less than they used to be, he’s getting better in so many ways, but I’m still not wasting an opportunity.

 

Considering what a conniving manipulative bastard he can be, as well as pushy, dominating, controlling, and somewhat power hungry Alpha werewolf, he’s shockingly submissive in the bedroom.  It’s taken me by surprise because the first Peter was so over confident that I have wondered just how much of that was bluff and whether he knew I’d be happy with the softer gentler side as well.

 

Drawing him into my arms I make sure to take time and sniff him as he sniffs me back.  We don’t always get so wolfy but a full moon is rapidly approaching and my wolf loves to scent mark him, to let everyone know he’s taken, that he’s ours, and we end up reeking of him so we can flaunt that we belong to him too.

 

Kissing him I smile as he hums and then opens his mouth inviting me inside, neither of us fights for dominance we slow down and explore, we have hours to do this and I let him tug me towards one side of the blanket.  We eventually make it down to kneeling and the sneaky shit has put a cushioned something under the blanket here so it’s less harsh on our tough werewolf bodies, he’s such a fail when it comes to roughing it anywhere.

 

I try to follow when he breaks the kiss, but a hand holds me in place as he lays back like a very beautiful gift, a gift with an erection that’s leaking almost as much as his body is giving off heady scents of arousal.  And then he lifts his knees and spreads for me, and I get to see the end of the plug we use at home already buried in him and I really did smell lube earlier.

 

“Peter…” In all our time together this is the first time he’s done that, he likes it when I open him up, or sprawl out and moan as he opens me up.

 

“I need you Stiles,” his eyes burn blue, “Please…” He holds a hand out and I nearly brain myself on his knee as I lunge forward.

 

“What ever you need Peter,” I make it safely down to lay next to him, and as much as I want to just take him, I’m going to do this right, if he’s taking risks like this I’m going to reward him.

 

“You, I just need you Stiles,” And he’s so fucking sappy, he buys me flowers and then messes around with them when he puts them in water.  We go dancing when we have the time, he takes me on dates and does his best to show me and the world how much he cares.  He’s still a borderline sociopath, he’s more likely to kill than talk to enemies, or get them to kill each other with as many bodies hitting the ground as possible and he does try to dodge responsibility when he screws up, I rarely let him get away with any of the shit he tries to pull and I’ve never been so damn happy in any of my lives.

 

“And I need and love you Peter,” I tell him and push myself up so I can lean over him and kiss him, I keep it simple, soft, and I can smell not only my own arousal but that special something that happy couples get when they’re in it for the long haul.

 

Moving away from his mouth I kiss along his jaw, the scars under my lips are well known by now, I can almost tell exactly where I’m kissing when I have my eyes closed from the scar patterns that cover half of him.

 

His ear gets breathed into and I whisper, “Love you so much Peter, so happy with you,” that earns me a growl that’s closer to a contented purr, his weakness of his ears being touched is nearly the same as when he’s in his monstrous Alpha form.  So I kiss, lick and nibble before continuing down over neck to his clavicles, then I lap my way to his nipple.

 

The scars are everywhere on his side, and he doesn’t have much sensation here but I still pay attention to his nipple and then slide lower over his chest to his stomach. 

 

“Stiles, you don’t have to,” he’s panting so I know he’s into this, that and the dick weeping and practically calling to me is a bit of a give away to how much he wants this.

 

Glancing up at him I give him my best bad boy look, I’m not that good at it but he groans and I flash my eyes at him, they should be amber but glow red from the medallion I still have, just like he has his, and everyone of our Pack has one now, though only ours changes the colour of our eyes.  “But Peter, how am I supposed to worship you if you don’t let me?”

 

He groans and writhes slightly, “Stiles, how do you manage to say things that are stupid in overly gushy romance novels and still make them sexy?”

 

“It’s a skill,” I shrug it off and press more kisses onto his stomach, “It’s not my fault if you fell from heaven right at my feet,  a guy has to snatch up such succulent fruit and feast,” I leer at him and then start making ‘nom’ noises as I give his taunt stomach open mouthed kisses.

 

The forest echoes with his laughter and his hand cups my face, “Idiot,” his fingers curl over my cheek, “How was I lucky enough to catch you let alone keep you?”

 

“And you say I say cheesy stuff,” I tease him and lean into his touch, “Now stop distracting me, I’m making love to my sexy wonderful husband.”

 

“Don’t let me detain you then,” he smirks at me and puts his hand behind his head, “Go ahead and start the loving.”

 

“Start?” I mock squawk and blow bubbles on his stomach for that, “Oh I’ll show you loving…” and I go back to kissing him and working down his body.  I deliberately keep to one side and kiss his scars to curve around his hip and come across the top of his thigh as I reposition so I’m between his legs.

 

And I wasn’t exaggerating about the feasting, he’s a beautiful sexy sight to behold, the scars are here too, one of his testicles is practically gone, only a small part of it remains.  His dick has a few scars, not too many but to start with he leaned heavily to one side and he couldn’t penetrate me as it hurt him. This is one area he’s cheated more than others with his scars.  Until he realised that he enjoyed being the bottom and there are plenty of options for us when he wants to top that doesn’t involve penetration.  I missed him fucking my brains out but he’s a dab hand with certain toys and he’s got nothing to prove to me.

 

Sucking the left over part of him into my mouth I kiss it before moving to his intact ball sac and he grunts as I suck.  He knows I’m going to tease the fuck out of him and he’s biting his lip and gripping the blanket so I take pity on him and lick his cock for him.

 

He’s covered in his own precum and it tastes amazing.  I love how it smells, how it explodes on my taste buds like the finest of wines, so full of Peter, Alpha, arousal, love, excitement.  Flicking with the tip my tongue I clean him up until he gives up trying to be quiet and moans.  I suckle the end of him and then sneak down between his legs.

 

I have to lift his buttocks with my hands, and werewolf strength comes in handy sometimes. It gives me access to the area just under his balls and I lick a path to where the plug is waiting inside of him. I lick around him and he’s moving his legs up over my shoulders.

 

“Peter,” I bury my nose against his skin as I steady myself, I don’t want to spoil any of this and then I grab the plug with my teeth, carefully so I don’t slice it with my fangs, and tug it back out of him.

 

“Stiles” he twitches but lets me balance his lower body for him.  I’m going to spit the plug out when he says, “I have a bag for that,” of course he does, I obediently drop it into the baggie he had hidden under the blanket, along with some lube for me.

 

“Ready?” I slick myself up and he’s nodding and digging his heels into my shoulders, damn he is so fucking flexible when he wants to be.  Lining up I push into him and this will never get old.  He’s so tight, his Alpha healing already tightening him, he’s so hot around me and I’m glad I’m no longer caught in a teen body that was embarrassingly quick to finish.

 

Burying myself in him I shift my weight up and then pull out so I can start to thrust as I gauge the angle so that he grunts and his eyes roll up in his head as he gasps, “Stiles, god Stiles,” my normally eloquent husband turns to mush and even whimpers as I begin to build the pace.

 

His left hand lets go of the blanket and curls around his neglected dick, he won’t be long and I time my own hips to his hand movements, as he speeds up so do I and I struggle not to cum too soon.

 

When his body stiffens I grit my teeth but I can’t resist as he clenches around me from his own orgasm, and when he howls out his release I join him letting out howls blend together.

 

Pulling out of him I lower his legs and then fall forward gently not caring about the cum all over his stomach, this way I’ll carry the smell of it for hours.  His arms curve up to hold me and I nuzzle into his neck.

 

“Love you,” he says and I notice the hand he used to jerk himself off with, the hand that’s splattered with cum, is the one he uses to comb his fingers through my hair. He’s such a shit sometimes.

 

“Love you too Peter,” I close my eyes and enjoy the moment, then my eyes fly open and I lift my head up, “Wait what was that about an anniversary?”  Shit I don’t think I’ve forgotten anything, though sometimes I get confused between this life and the last one, some things are the same and some are so different.

 

He opens one eye lazily, “Ten years ago, at night, I Bit you.  I heard someone near my kill, I needed a Pack, and there you were, except you didn’t scream and when I Bit you, you rubbed my ears and I knew you’d be special,” he rolls us over and now he’s on top gazing down at me, “But I didn’t know how special.”

 

Kissing me he hums happily and then pulls back, “I don’t think anyone’s ever thanked you for doing what you did,” he boops our noses together, “Though only a few of us know what you did, how you came back, how you saved us.”

 

He goes serious and then kisses me again, “Thank you Stiles, thank you, I know it wasn’t a good life for you last time,” he should know he’s the one that’s there when I have nightmares, when I dream of the ones I lost, that I couldn’t save.

 

“It was worth it,” I tangle my own hands in his hair, “I have you, I have my Pack, my family, we made it, we survived, and I’d do it again, even if it didn’t quite go to plan at the time.”

 

“When does it ever?” He jokes and we laugh because people still let Derek near the plans even now.  “Speaking of plans, I was thinking we could eat, do more naked things together and then go home to do a mass puppy pile,” he’s lost the battle on puppy piles, they are so a thing in our Pack, “And watch Derek’s face when he realises what we did today.”

 

“Evil,” I chuckle and add, “Don’t forget Erika, Isaac, and Cora will smell it too, and Cora’s twins.”

 

He snorts, “The twins are too young to understand, we need to milk this while we can, plus it’s not like Cora can talk, her and Isaac are just as bad.”

 

“True,” I stretch out under him and then wrap myself around him like an octopus, “Until then you’re all mine, well you and the food you brought.”

 

“I’m always yours,” he counters and pulls me impossibly closer under the same trees we met for the first time again just ten years ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for any and all comments/reviews, PMs, emails, kudos, favourites, follows, subscriptions, and nice thoughts sent my way. I’m glad you’ve enjoyed this story that was going to be small and simple and then kinda exploded on me. There was going to be much more smut in the story as Stiles was going to use sex against Peter to bind them closer and then plot happened instead.
> 
> Bows Humbly, this was fun to write, now back to my other stories (oh and more work too).


End file.
